How Google's Desktop Search Results Redesign Could Impact Your B2B Digital Marketing

15-01-2020Tags: Strategy

Google has launched a new design for their desktop result pages.

Last year in May, Google updated their mobile search results to display PPC adverts with a subtle black “Ad” label. Additionally websites that featured in organic results would have a favicon next to their URL.

8 months later & Google have announced that these updates would be rolled out to their desktop search results.

But how will this impact your B2B digital marketing?

Here's how Google let us know on Twitter:

But how will this impact your B2B website & digital marketing strategy? As of January 2020, it's too early to tell but any company with a digital marketing strategy should keep an eye on the following for performance changes over the forthcoming months:

PPC

The black “Ad” label that Google has been testing for several months is not just live for the mobile results but now also for desktop results. It replaces the green outlined label that Google introduced in 2017.

But this is not the first time Google have changed the appearance of their PPC results.

Is the new black 'Ad' label clear enough for searchers? Twitter users have already challenged Google by arguing the previous green ad label was clearer to distinguish between PPC listings & organic results. 

One Twitter user suggests, “Ads are now pretty much undistinguishable from organic search results, which I suppose is the whole idea behind the change.”

This could result in an increase in searchers clicking PPC ads mistaking them for organic listings. And why would Google possibly want more searchers clicking on ads???

Therefore if your company is running a B2B PPC campaign you will need to closely monitor Click Through Rates (CTR). If searchers are mistaking ads for organic listings, your CTR could increase leading to your daily budget being used up quicker, reducing your Search Impression Share. And if your ads are showing less than they previously did, you may be limiting your opportunities for increasing lead generation.

SEO & Organic Listings

Desktop organic listings are getting the favicon treatment that was first introduced on mobile search results. Your site name & bread crumbs appear in black text next to the favicon & both display above the title link in a similar structure to the new text ad treatment. A very similar structure...

Prior to this update, the site name & breadcrumbs appeared in green text below the title. As with changes to your PPC performance, it's too early to tell the impact of the favicon implementation to organic listings but if we anticipate a change to PPC results, it's only right that we should anticipate a change in organic traffic.

What this change really means:

Whilst searchers will hopefully be used to this design, after seeing it on mobile for several months is this yet another redesign that blurs the line between paid ads & organic listings?

What you should keep an eye out for in your digital marketing:

• PPC click through rates & search impression share
• Organic traffic %  
• As with any Google changes, check if there has been a change to your lead generation

If you're unsure how this Google update will impact your business, we'd love to hear from you. We’re a B2B Digital Marketing Agency in Bournemouth & we’re here to help you achieve your marketing objectives & increase lead generation. Get in touch with our team today.