Google’s Blue Arrow
Zach | 7 October, 2010
Late last week Google rolled out its blue navigational arrow, the latest Google Instant feature. Aimed at providing faster, easier to access results, Google’s Blue Navigational Arrow appears to the left of the first result of every Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Pressing ‘enter’ opens the arrow’s corresponding page allowing users to navigate without ever having to reach for their mouse by using the ‘up’ and ‘down’ arrows on a keyboard. It may seem harmless enough, but this update could prove to have lasting effects on PPC marketing.
Initially, the new feature may simply draw attention to the first result of any given SERP with the result being a dramatic increase in clicks on 1st position ads “featured” by the arrow. As likely is an increase of reflex and accidental clicks on those ads. Impatient users may repeatedly hit ‘enter’ trying to “encourage” the page to load faster. While not an issue in the past, hitting ‘enter’ just a quarter of a second after the page is fully loaded now results in clicking on that first, most expensive paid ad, making it more important than ever to granularly manage your keywords’ bids and positions.
Initially, advertisers may see an increase in competition for the top 3 positions on the left side of the SERP, which are heavily favored by this new functionality as they are accessible with the arrow. To access the paid ads on the right of the SERP with the arrow, however, one must press the down arrow ~15 times. Whether users adopt the use of keyboard navigation functionality remains to be seen. The one thing we can be sure of is that Holiday season is right around the corner and it’s important to start getting all your Google blue arrows in a row!
File Under: Google Adwords & Pay Per Click & Search Marketing Comments (0)
