the search landscape in 2017
TRANSCRIPT
Rand Fishkin, Wizard of Moz | @randfish | [email protected]
The Search Landscape in 2017What’s changed (and changing) in SEO, searcher behavior, technology, &
marketing
Bit.ly/searchscape17
Some Remarkable, New DataOn Searcher Behavior…
How Many Searches Happen on Google.com?
In May, Google told SearchEngineLand it was 2+ Trillion…
Source
How Many Searches Happen on Google.com?
Source
That’s 480-720B searches/year on just Google.com US
Google.com US Search Session Data:
Average Session Length:
% of Search Clicks on Google Properties (YouTube, Maps, etc):
% of Searches Resulting in a Query Change Before a Click:
% of Searches Resulting in a Pogostick (click->back->click)
~55 seconds
11.8%*
21%
8%*11.8% of distinct search queries, 8.4% of all searches
Google Search Activity
The average searcher does ~3.4 queries per day on their desktop and mobile (each).
Mobile CTR
2.0% on Paid
40.9% on Organic
57.1% Don’t Click
2.8% on Paid
Desktop CTR
62.2% on Organic
35% Don’t Click
CTR on Google Mobile vs. Desktop
There may be more traffic opportunity from desktop STILL due to higher CTR
Source
From All Google…to Only Mostly Google.
Jumpshot’s Search Volume Distribution (Oct. 2016) Source
Halloween?
If We Assumed There Are 50 Billion Monthly Searches on Google.com…
Google Images Would Have:22.58 Billion Searches/Month
YouTube: 3.13 Billion Searches/Month
Yahoo!: 2.08 Billion Searches/Month
Bing: 1.9 Billion Searches/Month
Google Maps: 1.76 Billion Searches/Month
Amazon: 1.56 Billion Searches/Month
Facebook: 581 Million Searches/Month
DuckDuckGo: 472 Million Searches/Month
Google News: 236 Million Searches/Month
From SEO First…to Holistic Marketing.
2000-2012: SEO is Possible w/o Other Marketing
2012-Today: SEO Rewards Great Marketing
On-Page Keyword Use
Important Then: Important Now:
Crawler Accessibility
Links (the more the better)
Anchor Text
Keywords in Domain Name
Internal Linking & PageRank Flow
Content Quantity
Staying Under Google’s Radar
Content’s Overall Relevance (incl. KWs)
Crawler Accessibility
Links (but only from legit sources)
Anchor Text (better not be too good)
Branding & Memorability
Mobile Friendliness & Overall UX
Searcher Satisfaction
Have Nothing to Hide
Why? A Change in Ranking Inputs
Launching a New Venture?
SEO
Brand & Product
Unique Value Proposition
Audience & Influencers
Content & UX
From SERP Rankings…to SERP Features.
SERP Features Are Near-Universal
SERP Features Massively Impact CTR
Many Features Remove SEO Opportunity
But, in 2017, There’s Also More Feature Opportunity Than Ever Before
You can do SEO to show up here
And here
And here
Here And here Here too Also here Yup!
16 Features Every SEO Should Consider:
Video units
SERP Feature Type How to Get In
“People Also Ask”
Featured Snippet
Maps Box
Knowledge Panel
Top Stories (News)
Images
Apps
Create & optimize on YouTube (or, rarely, Vimeo)
Branding – get searched for with/after the query
Phrasing & position of short answer in content
Claim GMB, get links, earn citations, be nearby
Earn brand association, use structured markup
Get in Google News, earn links, title w/ KWs
Relevant images, alt attributes, & direct embeds
KWs in title/description, get popular in app stores
Books
Related Searches
Tweets
Search Suggest
Sitelinks
Section Sitelinks
In-Depth Articles
Carousels/List Results
Write a book, use KWs in the title, have an ISBN
Be searched+found commonly w/ the KWs
Verified accounts help, use KWs in tweets
As w/ related searches, also geo-sensitive
Get links & visits to several pop pgs; use markup
Grow popular subsections w/ popular subpages
Author longer pieces that receive attention/links
Be listed alongside common sets on the web
16 Features Every SEO Should Consider:SERP Feature Type How to Get In
AdWords
54.7% of Results, 3.4% of Clicks
Local/Maps Results
15% of Results, 0.9% of Clicks
Tweet Blocks
7% of Results, 0.23% of Clicks
Google Shopping
9% of Results, 0.55% of Clicks
Image Block
11% of Results, 3% of Clicks
YouTube
6.3% of Results, 1.8% of Clicks
Personalized Gmail
??% of Results, 0.16% of Clicks
Top Stories?
Unfortunately, we couldn’t get data on these (yet)
Knowledge Panel
38% of Results, 0.5% of Clicks
Knowledge Panel
??!
You’re Welcome!
From Apps!…to Apps?
We Spend A Lot of Time on Our Mobiles
Source
But Apps Are a Winner-Take-All Market
Source
The Avg Person Really Only Uses 3 Apps
Source
Apps Are Only Valuable for a Few; Mobile Websites are Crucial For Everyone
Source
Be Careful Over-focusing on Mobile Only
Source
Desktop’s Plateauing, Not Dying
Source
From Expressed Intent…to Implied Intent.
Past: Query Terms Determined Results
Today: Google Knows What You Want Better Than (& Before) You Do
Elements We Believe Google Usesin Predictive Intent:
Location & Prior Behavior of Users in That Location
Device Attributes: Type, O/S, Speed, Installed Apps, etc
Search, App, & Browser History
Gmail Behavior (& possibly all keyboard behavior)
Temporal Elements & Time-Based Patterns
Different Devices/People; Different Results
Seattle, WA Northampton, MA
It’s Not Just Search Suggestions;It’s Rankings Too
e.g. In San Diego, Comics
Rule:
If Google Becomes a Suggestion Engine, Marketers Will Be Left With Two Choices:
Capture attention here Or compete, unaided, here
When I first stumbled across this article, I didn’t even know where
in Japan I’d go…
By the time I reached evaluation stage, it was too late to convince me
to stay anywhere else…
From Results…to Answers.
Many Queries GetNo Clicks at All
According to our clickstream data, <25% of searchers will click
from a result like this.
This is so common that, according to our data, 49% of searches results in 0 clicks!
Why Sacrifice Ad $$ for Answers?
These are high CPC ads, with high ROI
Why is Google hurting ad CTR w/ these answers?!
Answers More Searches
Google’s willing to lose a lot of short-term revenue in exchange for addictive search behavior
Is the Future Ads as Answers?
In Organic, Featured Snippets Are Google’s Primary “Be the Answer” Bet.
Extracted, Card-Style Answersare Also on the Rise
From Voice Search…to Smart Assistants.
Voice Search = No Threat
Smart Assistants = Some Threat
From Net Neutrality…to an Uncertain Future.
Source
If Net Neutrality is Eliminated in the US, What Will It Mean for Site Owners?
ISPs will charge subscribers more to visit sites outside the included bundles, massively lowering traffic opportunities.
A lot of SEO will shift to sites included by ISP defaults
Sites targeting top 20-30% earners will be less affected
Paying ISPs may be required to achieve the most traffic
Google may show sites’ status w/ the ISP in the SERP
