Changes across Google search results by SERP feature
As an Enterprise SEO Consultant, using tools like DataForSEO SERP Volatility Index enables me to stay ahead of the SERP Volatility curve
For this article, I am going to be diving into the United Kingdom’s SERP Volatility Data since this is where I operate.
SERP Volatility (30 September 2024 till 27 October 2024): All Categories, Desktop Devices from Google
Result: 8.5/10 which comes under the bracket of high volatility.
SERP Feature – % of SERP Change:
Top 3 Winners:
– Popular Products 20.73% (+0.57 increase vs previous day)
– Paid 1.44% (+ 0.29 increase vs previous day)
– Explore Brands 3.93% (+0.16 increase vs previous day)
Top 3 Losers:
– Find Results On 20.01% (-0.35 decrease vs previous day)
– Local Pack 23.43% (-0.33 decrease vs previous day)
– Knowledge Graph 12.00% (-0.25 decrease vs previous day)
SERP Features Volatility Winners & Losers Explanation:
Recently, (Oct 15, 2024) Google’s announced their shopping product category is ‘getting a big transformation‘ which could explain the winning SERP Feature category ‘popular products’, and ‘explore brands’.
Sean Scott, the VP/GM at Google for Consumer Shopping stated that Google is trying out ‘assistive experiences like AI shopping or with rich product listing ads’ which also explains the ‘paid’ category being shown by Google by 0.29 more vs the previous day.
One simple explanation for the losers in SERP Features declines is from another SEO Consultant, Brodie Clark, who tracks SERPs from his SERPs Notes. In the month of October 2024, we see a clear upsurge in the new common features as the winners. This ultimately pushes down SERP features like ‘knowledge graphs’, ‘local packs’, or ‘find results on’, making Google a more and more platform for keeping users on the SERP interface for longer.
Another feasible explanation for this shift was provided by Chris Long via Search Engine Land, in which he discussed Google’s changes in the way people will eventually start to interact with Google as an initial eCommerce site category page.
From my interaction via Social Media platforms like TikTok, Google is more becoming of a ‘Search Experience Engine’ & less of a ‘Search Engine trying to make sense of all available information’. Perhaps Google realised that its partnership with a UGC site like Reddit may replace its traditional model, and therefore Google can first-hand train the LLMs to improve both Google Shopping & Search Experience Engine for the younger generations ahead.
For a deeper dive into Reddit & the almost scary-looking Visibility Index increases explanations, I recommend checking out the article by Lily Ray and the rest of the Amsive team.
AI Overview SERP Feature Volatility (30 September 2024 till 29 October 2024): All Categories, Mobile Devices from Google
SERP Feature – % of SERP Change:
Another interesting point to highlight is that, on mobile devices, AI Overviews have increased in the last day by +0.11 to 6.72% as a percentage of all SERP Features. Also, as shown in the picture above, across 30 days, AI Overviews as a SERP feature are gradually becoming more prevalent in the United Kingdom.
App SERP Feature Volatility (30 September 2024 till 29 October 2024): All Categories, Mobile Devices from Google
SERP Feature – % of SERP Change:
Moving on, on mobile devices, App SERP Feature Volatility has increased in the last day by +0.10 to 2.56% as a percentage of all SERP Features. This seems to be stable when we compare across the 30 days (as shown in the picture above), but there is still a gradual increase.
Commercial Units SERP Feature Volatility (30 September 2024 till 29 October 2024): All Categories, Mobile Devices from Google
SERP Feature – % of SERP Change:
Moving on, on mobile devices, Commercial Units SERP Feature Volatility has increased in the last day by +0.03 to 1.19% as a percentage of all SERP Features. This seems to be stable when we compare across the 30 days (as shown in the picture above), so there is a minimal gradual increase.
Courses SERP Feature Volatility (30 September 2024 till 29 October 2024): All Categories, Mobile Devices from Google
SERP Feature – % of SERP Change:
Moving on, on mobile devices, Courses SERP Feature Volatility has decreased in the last day by -0.01 to 0.38% as a percentage of all SERP Features. Also, From the image above we see a decline across 30 days from 0.93% on 30 Sept. 2024 to 0.38% on 29 Oct. 2024. This shows my point earlier in the article where some features are becoming more popular in the SERPs, while others have to slowly disappear to make room for new upcoming features.
Events SERP Feature Volatility (30 September 2024 till 29 October 2024): All Categories, Mobile Devices from Google
SERP Feature – % of SERP Change:
Moving on, on mobile devices, Events SERP Feature Volatility has increased in the last day by +0.01 to 0.16% as a percentage of all SERP Features. Also, from the image above we see a steady line (slight decrease) across 30 days from 0.21% on 30 Sept. 2024 to 0.16% on 29 Oct. 2024. There isn’t much happening across the last 30 days for the Events SERP Feature in terms of the Volatility in rankings.
Featured Snippet SERP Feature Volatility (30 September 2024 till 29 October 2024): All Categories, Mobile Devices from Google
SERP Feature – % of SERP Change:
Moving on, on mobile devices, Featured Snippet SERP Feature Volatility has increased in the last day by +0.18 to 9.75% as a percentage of all SERP Features. Also, from the image above we see a lot of testing by Google from 3 Oct. 2024 to 9 Oct. 2024. Overall, there is a decrease across 30 days from 10.12% on 30 Sept. 2024 to 9.75% on 29 Oct. 2024. This highlights my point earlier in the article where Google is always testing popular SERP features like Featured Snippet because they want to know if AI Overviews are favoured from the user perspective vs standard Featured Snippets.
Found On Web SERP Feature Volatility (30 September 2024 till 29 October 2024): All Categories, Mobile Devices from Google
SERP Feature – % of SERP Change:
Moving on, on mobile devices, Found On Web SERP Feature Volatility has decreased in the last day by -0.03 to 5.37% as a percentage of all SERP Features. Also, from the image above we see a major increase by Google from 15 Oct. 2024 to 18 Oct. 2024 and ups and downs afterwards. Overall, there is an increase across 30 days from 3.75% on 30 Sept. 2024 to 5.37% on 29 Oct. 2024. This highlights that Google has rolled out more Found On Web SERP Features recently and could be currently testing this SERP Feature and perhaps deciding whether to increase or decrease the percentage of total depending on the type of queries recorded.
SERP Volatility in the United Kingdom: Conclusion
As we enter the month of November 2024, we as SEOs should be starting to see changes in click behaviour from users especially on e-commerce sites. Google is fully rolling out AI Overviews here in the UK on mobile, meaning Google Shopping will dictate much of the search market as expected.
Data Source: DataforSEO
My name is Konrad Szymaniak and I have been working in the SEO Industry both employed and now independently consulting for nearly a decade. For more SERP Volatility updates, collaborations on meaningful projects & knowledge exchanges please reach out to me via the contact page or LinkedIn.