Search marketers, take note: The Google SERP is changing again. Google has added lists of top referenced items related to queries for select searches, complete with URLs where users can learn more.
The company announced the related searches feature last week. Google uses “a variety of signals to assess what the web collectively thinks are the most significant items associated with your search keywords,” it explains.
For instance, searching for Pablo Picasso produces related artwork searches, giving users a visual taste of his work, while searching for Nobel Prize winners offer a list of recipients, along with some featured sources. Clicking any one related search suggestion (such as Albert Einstein among the Nobel Prize winners) moves the top reference box to the top of the page.
With this in mind, marketers may want to consider offering rich information that can help make their businesses suggested reference sources. This seems to be yet another step indicating that Google wants to transform the internet into a source of knowledge – a major theme at the company’s recent Inside Search event.
Businesses that offer unique and valuable content on their sites may find they are rewarded by the search giant, whether through high rankings in the post-Panda search space or by becoming one of the mentioned sources in a “top references” list on a SERP for a popular (and competitive) query.
Plus, investing in high quality content can help marketers perform in other search spaces. As Brafton reported, Bing affirms that content is king for its portal.
