While the SEO-sphere is experiencing a stir due to the rise of voice search, another small revolution is about to shake up the results of the first page of Google.
A new display in the SERP that is by no means a rumor, the proof is that the English-Canadian engine has been applying it since March 2017 and, let’s not hide it any longer, the results in the top 10 are really shaken. Because this new display on the first page of Google shakes up the SERP and pushes the natural results down, the very, very low.
This “service” is called People also ask on google.ca in English and “Other questions asked” in French.
Its deployment on Google.ca in French has been effective since November 15, 2017, and you should look to take advantage of this new feature rather than be sorry about it.
People Also Ask, the engine answers questions IN the SERP
The results of the top 10 are not changed, they are “only” pushed further down the SERP, this display of “answers” interspersed as already do
- Google Map for local queries
- Google image for graphical queries
- Google shopping, news, people
- Youtube for video queries
The only displays that are never affected are Google Adwords.
The CTR of natural results has suffered a significant, not to say drastic, decrease, even on the first three results.
On display, 4 questions are proposed before the first organic site.
The screenshot shows the result zero, then four suggested questions close to the query.
Finally the first natural result (comment-economiser.fr comes below)
People are asking these questions too…
It seems that “any” query ( let’s say a large number) that starts with who, what, how, why, where triggers the proposal of a response that is displayed as toggles. (The toggle is a “drawer” with content that opens and closes when you click on its title. This is called semi-hidden content)
A single snippet is displayed for the question asked, along with four to five other questions related to the query.
An endless lengthening of questions…
They appear as clearly visible and easy-to-click suggestions…
Each time you press the title (the question displayed), the toggle opens, pushing the natural results a little lower and this at each drawer. and takes the opportunity to add questions as you explore each answer.
In the illustration on the right, I have opened 6 answers.
Not only do the natural results plummet with each opening, but we also see that other questions are added as we read it.
The first natural result remains hidden underneath (I cut for the image, the Zero result)
Absolutely, I don’t have to go to a website anymore to get what I’m looking for!
Three consequences of the presence of these proposals
- The page gets longer by pushing back the organic results
- Less visible, natural results are less consulted. Even the sites in the top 3 since they disappear from the first fold.
- By suggesting answers to similar questions, the engine tends to standardize searches and divert keyboard query intent.
Analysis of Google Q results
I took the time to analyze some articles in “Other questions asked”:
On the vague question ” what does the insect do in winter ” the winning articles:
- are generally long articles – more than 1000 words;
- come from different sites from one question/answer to another, there is no hegemony, on the contrary the sites are varied;
- Have title> tags < that are mostly identical to their H1> tag <(which goes against onpage optimization best practices, which aim to place the same paper on multiple variants of key phrases targeted).
- display the answer to the question in the meta description;
- deal with the subject matter and are very little promotional;
We can see through these few observations that the content that responds and is positioned is not necessarily the most likely to convert (even if through a high level of relevance, the expertise is recognized by the reader).
It seems that these articles have been cut and chiseled to appear in this ranking.
Suggested questions are more explicit than Google suggest.
We know the Suggest function of search engines which tends to suggest popular key phrases before you have finished typing your own query on the keyboard.
The concerns of Internet users revealed by Google suggest are sometimes surprising
At the same time, it is true that voice search tends to lengthen queries and makes it easier to query question.
People Also Ask uses this principle of suggesting queries in the form of popular questions.
These questions are displayed because they are asked by Internet users (keyboard/mobile/voice searches combined). They are therefore
Take advantage of this new view
SEO experts in Montreal and elsewhere can take advantage of this feature by identifying the questions mentioned and producing articles and answers to these suggestions.
These articles, written from the list of questions, will add to your content production strategy
Two solutions appear:
1). Write specific “answer” articles , a kind of FAQ with long explanations
or
2). Adapt the content of pages with low position/conversion to reorient them “Other questions asked”.
Indeed, most blogs offer several articles with redundant or similar topics and, in general, only the most powerful page is visible in the SERP and converts.
Take the time to analyze the existing blog and identify recyclable items and then:
- renew/modify the text by orienting your writing towards the question/answer style;
- Answer the question thoroughly.
- Don’t forget to illustrate it;
- modify the <title> accordingly;
- submit your revised page to Google.
It is clear that you should not redirect all your articles or your entire blog in this direction, as “questions” queries represent only a fraction of searches, on the other hand, we will think about adjusting our content according to this invasive display in order to keep a chance of not being pushed to the bottom of the page in this particular context.
There is no doubt that 2018 will be marked by this upheaval in personalized results on the first page
- Your opinion?
- A constructive comment?
- Any more ideas?
Comments are open, enjoy