Google is Killing CTR
Google is Killing CTR? But, Google is always changing the nature of SEO. Are we witnessing the End of SEO? Why is the Click-Through-Rate (CTR) so important to Affilaite Marketer?
Where is Google's Future
We all know that Google is forever tweaking their "secret" algorithm. But is Google giving "higher" priority to paid adverts over organic results, even if the SEO listings are more relevant to the search term?
Relevant content will still rule the roost, but pure SEO will find it harder to achieve a page one listing. Good relevant content will still be required for AdWords as more companies follow this path, and that sector becomes more competitive.
Today, much of the "above-the-fold" listings are taken up by paid adverts, with organic SEO listings relegated to "below-the-fold".
With much of the "above-the-fold" now being taken up with AdWords, Featured Snippet and Star Reviews, The "coveted" #1 ranking SEO listing, increasingly is found "below-the-fold"!
Rarely will people scroll "below-the-fold" as more of the "above-the-fold" answer the keyword search with no need to click through. As reported in the "The Biggest Trend in SEO" [1], it's not your ranking that will change, it's your CTR that will suffer!
Before the proliferation of Google AdWords, there would be ten organic listings on page one, now it is likely, no more than seven! How long before there are only five?
Does This Matter
Perhaps this doesn't matter. Should we focus on styling our content to get that coveted first organic spot, now being overtaken by the "Featured Snippet"? There are steps we can take now that by aiming as we do to "low hanging fruit" in such a way as to be assured of becoming the "Featured Snippet". To do so, would still mean first-class relevant content and crafted SEO content as taught by Wealthy Affiliate. But, we can do more to grab that "Featured Snippet" position.
We could, follow the herd and pay for an advertisement slot on page one, "above-the-fold". Do you want to pay for your listing?
What Can We Do To Mitigate This Trend
Going forward, we can focus on building a following on main-stream social media, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter (All taught here in Wealthy Affiliate). Word of mouth (or should I say pen) will be more potent than the dated search engines, as they struggle to increase profits.
It is well worth reading the full report found below on the Orbit Media website.
[1] This article is a direct result of the recently published report - "The Biggest Trend in SEO" - by Andy Crestodina, of Orbit Media.
Recent Comments
27
I have wondered that also Paul. Seems the first or second is always an Ad, but I have also seen some very successful affiliates from here and otherwise who take up the top 6 spots successfully all the time. Perhaps their longevity and content on their site help in this. I am sure none of them are really new, but in their niche, it may be unique and google likes it.
I guess what we consider a lot of content, within certain niches it may not be. Good view and observation though.
I read the same thing by a SEO guy N Patel who stated its hard to rank sites above number one above the fold ever since the use of “featured snippets.” To get featured snippets has to be an authority type that answers the what questions. Many businesses are trying that. Sounds competitive. If use the right keywords its still possible but there are other search engines Bing, Yahoo and some other ones. I do not like social media and I find myself having a hard time figuring out how to challenge myself with that. Adwords are starting to get expensive. Solo ads and FB ads using the pixels, other marketing like you said word of mouth (offline) all are effective tools. Thanks for sharing this information.
This is good info and it kinda sucks the way Google works with Ads. I've learned that promoting my website will probably be the only way I will ever get seen because when looking up my site by name on Google, all of my indexed content is there on the first page, but when I google keywords I don't see anything of mine.
My niche is taken up by the big name websites so I don't even consider reaching page one even though I am indexed.
Thanks so much for sharing this info. It's good to see and know how to get around it.
Although extremely informative and important, I always feel deflated by posts like these.
All that hard work and money going into getting organic traffic and eventually it could all be for nothing.
If this was to be the case, surely wealthy affiliate would have to totally restructure their training?
I agree with your comment - how in the heck are us newbies supposed to reach any amount of success? I'm working my tushy off with the expectation of gaining some traction around the 6-8 month marks, but now I am wondering what the point is or if WA is going to address these things.
I also went on to say, that it's not all doom and gloom. If you read Neil Patel's take on this, then things are not so bad as it first looks.
Not all keywords are affected. The training here teaches us to aim for the long-tailed-keywords or "hanging fruit", these are far less competitive and less affected by these changes.
Bing and Yahoo still account for 33% of the search traffic.
Wealthy Affiliate training also covers social media and PPC.
I wouldn't panic, just yet. It could be a blessing in disguise. My traffic is on the increase as I put in more work so I will continue to do so. I wish I had Mr Patel's traffic numbers though! LOL!
Thanks - I did see you mentioned Neil Patel and his take. I suppose a lot of my fear is centered around the fact that I just don't understand a lot of the nuances of SEO or algorithms or Google in general. I have done the training and I do read a little about the changes and such, but again, there is so much I don't understand - I just hate to spend the next year of my life working towards something that I was taught would make money only to find out it won't because of all these changes to the internet. A friend of mine who has been in the food blogging realm since the early 2000's and has achieved some financial success told me over lunch the other day how she feels the days of affiliate marketing are over and that there are just too many angles to compete from. I'm trying not to freak out about the time/money I have been investing, but hearing things like that and now these changes has me in full blown anxiety mode.
There tens of millions of new products becoming available every day. Searches for these new products produce brand new long-tailed keywords every day.
More and more companies are turning to affiliate marketers to help increase their markets and overall profits without the upfront costs.
I do not see how affiliate marketing could be over. In my eyes, we are only at the beginning! The potential market is staggeringly huge! The numbers are breath-taking!
Google just wants too much now but in a twist, they will help more facebook groups get utilized.
Thanks Paul,
There is some element part in this your sharing so much that in my opinion I would request some of the more knowledgeable ones here to help to research to know what wpuld be the FUTURE of googole.
This could help many of us here to plan ahead of us.
Cheers.
This is an important post!
I've suspected this for some time, and it makes sense for Google, from a business point of view.
While affiliate marketers may double down and do our best to mitigate this, I think it will only get more difficult for affiliate marketers as time goes by.
It's not all doom and gloom though.
Have a read of Neil Patel's post on the same subject.
The global growth is still there to cancel out the shrinking CTR. In fact, as the global take-up of the internet is still in its growth phase, Neil uses his own website traffic as an example, and has witnessed an increase in his CTR rather than an expected decrease.
I can't give you the link here, but if you pop over to Neil Patel's website - it's his name. You need to scroll down his home page to find his menu. Then go to his blog and look up the attached blog.
Paul,
Thanks for sharing this here with us, it does affect everyone in the online marketing space.
Blessings!
See more comments
Really interesting Paul. Maybe a little bit worrying as I'm just getting started but I'm not going to give up now! I love my little website and hope to see it grow and grow!
I'll just have to be very savvy about my keyword research and use every tool and trick I can to maximise my SEO.
Thanks for the info!