Google Continuous Scrolling Comes to an End

To expose results worth of four pages in the search results, Google introduced continuous scrolling in 2021. When it was announced, many in the SEO community welcomed the move as it exposes more websites to the user without a need to click. Continuous scrolling strategy worked well for the social media channels which can be understood by the immense popularity gained by channels like Facebook and Instagram. That might not be the case with search engines, so Google has decided to put an end to it. It ended on desktops on 25^th June 2024 and will be removed on mobile devices in a few months.

What is Wrong with Google Continuous Scrolling?

As per a report from Search Engine Land, the reason to end continuous scrolling is the aim to increase the speed at which the search results are served. But the SEO community is not able to buy that. Continuous scrolling in Google search results didn’t seem to be a great feature to many, including myself.  

• When I type a query, I would like to check all the 10 results on the first page before deciding to check further. Continuous scrolling wouldn’t let me do that as the results keep appearing as soon as I scroll to the bottom of the page.
• It makes differentiating between sponsored and organic results very difficult.
• Google SERP used to be simple, but with the inclusion of “People also ask”, “videos”, and “images” in the same page it has become cramped. These features are surely to help the visitors, but it is not user friendly to have all those features appear suddenly as soon as you scroll to the bottom of the page.

Google has been trying to experiment with too many things when it comes to SERP User Experience. It has been playing with features like Rich Snippets, Featured Images, Knowledge Panels, and Forums in the name of enhancing user experience. Proper reasoning behind the changes should lessen the frequency of changes but that is not the case with Google SERP. The changes have become too frequent. I am sure it is hard for anyone to keep pace with the addition of millions of pages to the web. But a company like Google which personify innovation should be an exception to all those.

Ad Revenue Vs. Search Results

It is very evident that Google is trying hard to find ways to increase revenues. On YouTube, it has increased the number of ads shown before playing a video and increased the number of seconds before Skip Ad button appears. On Google Ads, the minimum Cost-per-Click has increased for many advertisers. This must be due to Google taking control of the bid with Smart Bidding. Whatever the reason is, it is trying hard to extract more from the companies using their ad platforms.

I am sure it is finding it difficult to intelligently place their ads by making the line between organic and paid results obscure. I feel, the end of continuous scrolling has something to do with that goal. With ChatGPT and Bing ready to grab pieces from its huge market share, Google is trying hard to keep it intact and also increase the revenue at the same time.

Being a huge fan of Google’s innovations, I think it will find a way to enhance the SERP without creating confusion in the SEO community.