Google Desktop Search Results Rolling Out Continuous Scroll
Google announced they would be rolling out continuous scroll to desktop search results, according to news published by Search Engine Land on December 5th, 2022.
This new functionality follows the use of continuous scroll on mobile search results for Google that launched in October 2021.
Users would be able to see the first six pages of results simply by scrolling on desktop, after which, a button to load more results would be available.
This will initially be rolling out for English search results for users in the United States.
Statement by a Google Representative
The following was told to Search Engine Land by a Google representative, and subsequently reported on several other SEO new websites.
“So starting today, we’re bringing continuous scrolling to desktop so you can continue to see more helpful search results with fewer clicks. It’s now even easier to get inspired with more information at your fingertips. Now, when you scroll down you’ll continue to find relevant results so that you can discover new ideas. When you reach the bottom of a search results page, up to six pages of results will be automatically shown until you see a “More results” button if you wish to continue further.”
– Google representative
My Personal Thoughts on This Functionality
There are several reasons Google may have decided to add this feature to desktop, (remember these are my own opinions.)
One, they likely saw greater user engagement by adding this to mobile, and have over a year’s worth of user data to back up this decision. The less friction their search engine has, the less likely it is that users will ever switch to another search engine.
Two, users are used to seeing a pattern on the search engine results pages (SERPs) of ads at the top, search features, organic search results, and then more ads on each page. The sponsored ads (Google Ads) demarcate the beginning of each page. This is an unconscious pattern that search engine users have seen for over twenty years. By making the flow continuous, the ads are more intermingled with the organic results, and might be more likely to get clicked.
Three, most apps and websites that are heavily used, such as social media, already have continuous scroll. This may be a way to make the Google search experience more similar to other websites that have high user engagement and repeat use.
Lastly, making the flow of the search results longer might allow Google to test more search results, and collect more user data on a wider selection of pages that match a query. Instead of the majority of users only interacting with the first page of results, users may scroll further, and Google can see how users interact with a larger variety of pages. This would allow them to test an array of pages more efficiently. This might lead to better search results in a shorter amount of time.
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