I was chatting to a potential customer last week, and they mentioned the old joke, “Where is the best place to hide a dead body? On page 2 of Google.”  I mentioned how that used to be very accurate and how Google has been using continuous scrolling since 2023 in the UK.

To which they didn’t know! So, I popped a post together to explain more about it!

Google continuous scroll on SERP (Search Engine Results Page)

Continuous scrolling was first rolled out in 2021 for mobile devices, and then a different variant was rolled out for Desktop in 2022. This was in the USA; it was introduced into the UK in quarter 1, 2023.

On the SERP, it used to use pagination, so at the bottom of the page, you could skip to page 2, etc.

While searching on mobile, you can constantly keep scrolling, which is more natural on mobile devices. The Desktop version displays six pages worth of results, and then you are greeted by a more results button.

So you can’t gauge what page you are on; it’s more about how far you have to scroll. Ideally, you want to be in the top 3 positions of Google to be competitive for your specific search term.

What have we noticed since this update has been rolled out

If we roll the clock back 2-3 years when you got a client into position 1 for a specific search term. It used to stay in that position without having to do much work and changes only really occurred what felt like yearly. Now, I find the top 6 positions fluctuate frequently.

So, if you are in position 1, I would classify it as you are in the top results 1-6, as it is likely to change.

Some users find continuous scrolling more convenient, while others may prefer the old pagination system for better control. This does, however, allow lower-ranking websites to be seen. As lower-ranked results are now more easily accessible, it’s become even more important for websites to optimise for relevant keywords and create high-quality content.