SearchLove London 2017 | Rob Bucci | Reverse-Engineering Google's R...

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REVERSE-ENGINEERING
GOOGLE’S RESEARCH
How to target the right content to the right
customers at the right time.

@STATrob
#SearchLove

DO YOU REMEMBER THE NAME OF
THE ACTOR FROM THAT SCIFI
MOVIE WITH THE SHORT OLD GUY
WITH WEIRD EARS?
@STATrob

REMEMBER BEFORE GOOGLE?
How did you get the answers you needed?
@STATrob

INSTANT GRATIFICATION IS THE
NAME OF THE GAME FOR GOOGLE.
Their goal is to give you the answers you need. Fast.
@STATrob

THEY’VE CHANGED THE WORLD.
And they’ve changed human behaviour.
@STATrob

[NAME OF BAD GUY  
FROM HUDSON HAWK]
Google isn’t good at this query. They totally suck, right?
@STATrob

GOOGLE IS A VICTIM OF  
THEIR OWN SUCCESS.
They have changed our expectations for information
retrieval and they have to a...

GOOGLE IS CHANGING THE RULES.
BUT, THEY ALSO HAVE TO PLAY BY
THE NEW RULES.
@STATrob

IT’S LIKE A GIANT DRAWING A
MAP WHILE ITS FOOTSTEPS
ALTER THE LANDSCAPE.
@STATrob

SERPS ARE THE FRONTEND TO
GOOGLE’S MULTI-BILLION-DOLLAR
CONSUMER RESEARCH MACHINE.
@STATrob

BY PAYING ATTENTION TO THE
SERPS, WE CAN SNOOP ON
GOOGLE’S RESEARCH.
And we can learn what our customers are  
looking for...

LET’S TALK INTENT.
@STATrob

CONSUMER SEARCH INTENT.
There are three key stages of search intent  
when making consumer searches online.
@STATrob

THE INFORMATIONAL STAGE IS
THE START OF THE PATH TO
PURCHASE.
@STATrob

AT EACH STAGE OF THE FUNNEL,
THE SEARCHER HAS A
DIFFERENT INTENT.
@STATrob

“…demographics don't help us
understand what we really need to
know — what consumers are looking
for in an exact moment or...

SEARCHER INTENT IS THE
NEW DEMOGRAPHICS.
@STATrob

INTENT BEATS IDENTITY.
IMMEDIACY BEATS LOYALTY.
In order to be where the searcher is looking, we need
to understand their ...

THE RESEARCH
@STATrob

14 PRODUCT CATEGORIES,  
542 QUERIES:
• Music (40 core queries)
• Computers (42 core queries)
• Sports & outdoors (38 core...

EXAMPLE KEYWORD MODIFICATIONS
APPLIANCES ELECTRONICS PET SUPPLIES
INFORMATIONAL blender lcd tv cat brush
COMMERCIAL blende...

KEYWORD RESEARCH IS  
MORE ART THAN SCIENCE.
Your keyword lists will be more nuanced than ours.
@STATrob

SIMPLE SHARE OF VOICE SCORING
WEIGHT SEARCH VOLUME SHARE OF VOICE SCORE
Rank 1 1 x 1000 = 1000
Rank 2 0.9 x 1000 = 900
Ran...

DON’T FORGET
THE DATA FROM OUR RESEARCH
IS SPECIFIC TO OUR KEYWORD
SET. YOUR RESULTS WILL DIFFER.
@STATrob

I’M HERE TO SHOW YOU WHAT’S
POSSIBLE. FOCUS ON THESE
METHODS, RATHER THAN THE DATA.
@STATrob

FOR EACH STAGE OF INTENT,  
WE MAPPED THE SERP.
@STATrob

FEATURED SNIPPETS

IMAGES

NEWS

PLACES

PEOPLE ALSO ASK

VIDEO

SHOPPING

QUESTION ONE
HOW CAN WE UNLOCK GOOGLE’S
INSIGHTS INTO WHAT SEARCHERS
ARE LOOKING FOR AT EACH STAGE?
@STATrob

QUESTION TWO
WHAT POINTS OF LEVERAGE DO
WE HAVE IN EACH STAGE TO MAKE
SURE WE’RE VISIBLE AND USEFUL?
@STATrob

QUESTION THREE
CAN WE REVERSE-ENGINEER THE
WINNING STRATEGIES OF KEY
COMPETITORS AT EACH STAGE?
@STATrob

HERE’S A 10,000-FOOT VIEW
OF WHAT WE FOUND.
@STATrob

ORGANIC RESULTS RULE.
10%
90%
ORGANIC
ALL OTHERS

BE THERE. BE USEFUL. BE QUICK.
The core organic algorithm does an amazing job of
determining which results are most useful...

BUT SHOPPING BOXES  
ARE MAAAAAAJOR.
40%
60%
SHOPPING
NON-SHOPPING

THESE ARE OUR  
POINTS OF LEVERAGE.
7%
7%
9%
23%
25%
29% IMAGES
VIDEO
ANSWERS
PLACES
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
NEWS

INFORMATIONAL
INTENT STAGE.
@STATrob

TOPOLOGY OF THE
INFORMATIONAL SERP
5%
5%
8%
18%
21%
42%
SHOPPING
IMAGES
NEWS
VIDEOS
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
ANSWERS
PLACES

SHOPPING RESULTS FOR OUR
KEYWORDS IN THE
INFORMATIONAL STAGE.
42%
@STATrob

IMMEDIACY BEATS LOYALTY.
Google knows that some people just want it now.  
Fast and cheap.
@STATrob

IMAGE RESULTS FOR  
OUR KEYWORDS IN THE
INFORMATIONAL STAGE.
21%
@STATrob

IMAGES ARE A GREAT UX  
FOR UNREFINED QUERIES.
They’re an easy way to ﬁnd the exact  
model, style or colour you’re lookin...

The view when a searcher clicks on an image.

VIDEO RESULTS FOR  
OUR KEYWORDS IN THE
INFORMATIONAL STAGE.
8%
@STATrob

Video pack/carousel

Stand-alone video result

7 SITES WITH VIDEO RESULTS
Results
0
35
70
YOUTUBE PCGAMER LIFEHACKER VICE EBAY MASHABLE STANCE
111122
62

FEATURED SNIPPET RESULTS
FOR OUR KEYWORDS IN THE
INFORMATIONAL STAGE.
5%
@STATrob

LET’S LOOK AT THE POTENTIAL  
OF GOING AFTER THESE
FEATURED SNIPPETS.
@STATrob

WHICH STYLE OF FEATURED SNIPPET  
IS THE MOST COMMON?
Results
0
10
20
30
40
50
LIST PARAGRAPH TABLE
2
39
1

AVERAGE SEARCH VOLUME PER
FEATURED SNIPPET RESULT FOR
OUR INFORMATIONAL KEYWORDS.
23,300
@STATrob

WIKIPEDIA IS THE OBVIOUS INCUMBENT HERE.
Results
0
5
10
15
20
WIKIPEDIA.ORG AMAZON.COM BESTBUY.COM XEROX.COM OFFICEDEPOT.C...

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED  
ABOUT THE SERPS FOR OUR
INFORMATIONAL KEYWORDS?
@STATrob

LESSON 1
RECOGNIZE WHEN YOU’LL NEED A
PAID STRATEGY TO WIN.
@STATrob

THE PREVALENCE OF SHOPPING
BOXES CAN’T BE IGNORED.
We need a paid strategy to give searchers what they
want here.
@STATrob

LESSON 2
LOOK FOR STRONG BIAS
TOWARDS CERTAIN SITES.
@STATrob

CAN YOU DISPLACE AN
INCUMBENT LIKE WIKIPEDIA?
They dominate the featured snippets in this stage.  
Is there really room fo...

LESSON 3
LOOKING AT THE SERP TOPOLOGY
TELLS US WHAT GOOGLE THINKS
THESE SEARCHERS WANT.
@STATrob

IN THIS STAGE, WE SAW
SEARCHER NEEDS BEING MET BY
NEWS, IMAGES, AND ORGANIC.
This is what Google has determined is the bes...

COMMERCIAL  
INTENT STAGE.
@STATrob

TOPOLOGY OF THE
COMMERCIAL SERP
12%
13%
10%
59%
SHOPPING
IMAGES
NEWS
VIDEOS
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
ANSWERS
PLACES

WHAT’S THE AVERAGE SHARE OF VOICE
CONTRIBUTION PER RESULT?
SHAREOFVOICESCORE
0
1,500
3,000
4,500
6,000
SHOPPING IMAGES NEW...

LET’S REVERSE-ENGINEER  
THE WINNING STRATEGIES  
IN THIS STAGE.
@STATrob

WHO HAS THE MOST SHARE OF VOICE  
IN THIS STAGE?
SHAREOFVOICESCORE
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
CONSUMER REPORTS TECH...

BUT WHO HAS THE MOST RANKINGS?RANKINGS
0
1,750
3,500
CONSUMER REPORTS TECHRADAR AMAZON.COM CNET PCMAG
204230
3,117
138299

WHO IS WINNING WHERE?
SHAREOFVOICESCORE
0K
100K
200K
300K
400K
CONSUMER REPORTS TECHRADAR AMAZON.COM CNET PCMAG
NEWS
VIDEO...

SEGMENT BY THE QUERY
MODIFIER TO SEE WHICH  
RESULT TYPES GOOGLE LIKES.
@STATrob

SERP TOPOLOGY FOR
“BEST” QUERIES
29%
12%
5%
50%
SHOPPING
IMAGES
NEWS
VIDEOS
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
ANSWERS
PLACES

SERP TOPOLOGY FOR
“COMPARE” QUERIES
8%
6%
42%
10%
34%
SHOPPING
IMAGES
NEWS
VIDEOS
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
ANSWERS
PLACES

SERP TOPOLOGY FOR
“NEW” QUERIES
4%
12%
7%
27%
50%
SHOPPING
IMAGES
NEWS
VIDEOS
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
ANSWERS
PLACES

DON’T FORGET
GO DEEPER THAN THE SURFACE
DATA. DIG INTO SHARE OF VOICE.
@STATrob

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED  
ABOUT THE SERPS FOR OUR
COMMERCIAL KEYWORDS?
@STATrob

LESSON 1
BY USING SHARE OF VOICE,
MEASURE WHICH DOMAINS ARE
WINNING.
@STATrob

WITH ALMOST 3,000 FEWER
RANKINGS, TECHRADAR STILL  
BEAT AMAZON.
Focusing on share-of-voice winners makes the
analysis eas...

LESSON 2
PERFORM SHARE OF VOICE
ANALYSIS ON RESULT TYPES TO
ASSESS THEIR POTENTIAL.
@STATrob

WE CAN REVERSE ENGINEER
TECHRADAR’S WINNING STRATEGY:
FEATURED SNIPPETS.
@STATrob

LESSON 3
SEGMENT EVEN DEEPER ON
QUERY MODIFIERS LIKE “BEST”
TO SEE HOW THE SERPS ADAPT.
@STATrob

FOR “BEST” SEARCHERS WANT
SNIPPETS. FOR “COMPARE” THEY
WANT VIDEOS.
This is where you get some of the most actionable insi...

TRANSACTIONAL
INTENT STAGE.
@STATrob

TOPOLOGY OF THE
TRANSACTIONAL SERP
9%
7%
11%
69%
SHOPPING
IMAGES
NEWS
VIDEOS
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
ANSWERS
PLACES

WHO HAS THE MOST SHARE OF VOICE  
IN THIS STAGE?
SHAREOFVOICESCORE
0K
125K
250K
375K
500K
AMAZON.COM WALMART.COM OVERSTOCK...

WHO IS WINNING WHERE?
SHAREOFVOICESCORE
0K
100K
200K
300K
400K
AMAZON.COM WALMART.COM OVERSTOCK.COM BESTBUY.COM SEARSOUTLE...

TWEETABLE TIP
THE FURTHER DOWN THE
FUNNEL YOU GO, THE MORE
DISTILLED THE SERP BECOMES.
@STATrob

THIS IS GOOD OL’ FASHIONED SEO!
(Ok, and PPC.)
@STATrob

ARE YOU RANKING HIGH?  
RANKING THE RIGHT CONTENT?
@STATrob

WHAT KIND OF CONTENT  
IS AMAZON RANKING?
RANKINGS
0
400
800
1200
1600
CATEGORY PRODUCT COUPON OTHER
104
706
1,590

WHAT ABOUT WALMART’S CONTENT?
RANKINGS
0
400
800
1200
1600
CATEGORY PRODUCT
162
1,008

AND OVERSTOCK’S CONTENT?
RANKINGS
0
400
800
1200
1600
CATEGORY PRODUCT BUYERS' GUIDE
1011
422

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED  
ABOUT THE SERPS FOR OUR
TRANSACTIONAL KEYWORDS?
@STATrob

LESSON 1
THE DEEPER YOU GO IN THE
FUNNEL, THE MORE YOU HAVE  
TO RELY ON ORGANIC RANKINGS.
@STATrob

ORGANIC RESULTS WERE THE BEST
WAY TO PUSH TRAFFIC IN THIS STAGE.
Catering content towards universal results isn’t going to...

LESSON 2
ANALYZE RANKING URLS TO FIND
OUT WHAT UX SATISFIES THE
SEARCHER’S INTENT.
@STATrob

THE MAJORITY OF PAGES WE  
SAW RANKING HIGHEST WERE
CATEGORY PAGES.
We also identiﬁed a few potential areas, like coupons,...

SO WHAT CONCLUSIONS
HAVE WE REACHED?
@STATrob

GOOGLE’S ADVICE
YOU HAVE TO BE THERE, BE
USEFUL, AND BE QUICK.
@STATrob

HOW TO “BE THERE”
QUALITY KEYWORD RESEARCH
AND THOROUGH SEGMENTATION
BY INTENT STAGES IS CRUCIAL.
@STATrob

HOW TO “BE THERE”
YOU KNOW IF YOU’RE “THERE”  
BY MEASURING SHARE OF VOICE.
You can break this out by stage or result type...

HOW TO “BE USEFUL”
LOOK AT SERP TOPOLOGIES TO
FIND OUT WHAT GOOGLE THINKS
IS USEFUL TO SEARCHERS.
@STATrob

SERP TOPOLOGY FOR
“COMPARE” QUERIES
8%
6%
42%
10%
34%
SHOPPING
IMAGES
NEWS
VIDEOS
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
ANSWERS
PLACES

HOW TO “BE USEFUL”
CREATE STRATEGIC CONTENT
EXPERIENCES THAT SATISFY
SEARCHERS’ IMMEDIATE NEEDS.
@STATrob

HOW TO “BE QUICK”
OPTIMIZE SITE SPEED AND  
GET RIGHT TO THE POINT.
Omit everything that distracts from the immediate
need...

HOW MANY UNIVERSAL RESULTS  
ARE THERE IN EACH STAGE?
0%
50%
100%
INFORMATIONAL COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONAL
10%11%15%

TOPOLOGY OF THE
INFORMATIONAL SERP
5%
5%
8%
18%
21%
42%
SHOPPING
IMAGES
NEWS
VIDEOS
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
ANSWERS
PLACES

TOPOLOGY OF THE
COMMERCIAL SERP
12%
13%
10%
59%
SHOPPING
IMAGES
NEWS
VIDEOS
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
ANSWERS
PLACES

TOPOLOGY OF THE
TRANSACTIONAL SERP
9%
7%
11%
69%
SHOPPING
IMAGES
NEWS
VIDEOS
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
ANSWERS
PLACES

WHICH RESULT TYPE HAS  
THE HIGHEST AVERAGE SHARE OF VOICE?SHAREOFVOICESCORE
0
1,500
3,000
4,500
6,000
ORGANIC SHOPPING EV...

KEY TAKEAWAY
OPTIMIZING FOR UNIVERSAL
RESULTS IS THE BEST WAY TO
ENSURE YOU’RE SATISFYING
SEARCHER INTENT.
@STATrob

KEY TAKEAWAY
WE CAN SNOOP INTO GOOGLE’S
FINDINGS ON SEARCH INTENT BY
LOOKING AT SERP TOPOLOGY.
@STATrob

KEY TAKEAWAY
AS WE MOVE DOWN THE INTENT
FUNNEL, DIFFERENT RESULT TYPES
RISE AND FALL IN VALUE.
@STATrob

KEY TAKEAWAY
WITH KNOWLEDGE OF INTENT, WE
CAN CRAFT THE RIGHT CONTENT
FOR THE RIGHT MOMENT OF THE
SEARCHER’S JOURNEY.
@STA...

THIS ANALYSIS IS EASY TO DO.  
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED:
• A SERP tracking tool that can break out result types
• Search volum...

DOWNLOAD THE  
WHITEPAPER:
GETSTAT.COM/SEARCHLOVE

ONE MORE THING…
@STATrob

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE SOME FRESH
FEATURED SNIPPET RESEARCH?
@STATrob

WE WERE CURIOUS ABOUT FEATURED
SNIPPET VOLATILITY.
So, naturally, we ran the numbers!
@STATrob

THREE TYPES OF VOLATILITY
• Featured snippet disappearing
• Featured snippet reappearing after it’s disappeared
• Featured...

WE TRACKED THE DATA FOR 20 DAYS
• 232,451 keywords that showed snippets on day one
• Tracked on a smartphone device
• Trac...

GOOD NEWS!
Most snippets are actually quite stable.
@STATrob

68% OF SNIPPETS WERE
UNCHANGED OVER 20 DAYS.
68%
@STATrob

89% OF QUERIES HAVE SNIPPETS
THAT APPEARED EVERY DAY.
89%
@STATrob

MOST OF THE VOLATILITY WE SAW
WAS DUE TO URL CHANGES.
When SERPs have a snippet, it looks like they stick around.
@STATrob

SNIPPETS ARE SELECTED FROM UP TO
THREE DIFFERENT SOURCE URLS
98% of snippets are sourced from up to three diﬀerent URLs.
@...

STABLE SNIPPETS PULL MOSTLY FROM
RANKS THREE & FOUR.
If you spot a snippet pulling from below rank four, you have a
better...

PARAGRAPH SNIPPETS ARE THE MOST
STABLE FORMAT.
Table snippets are Google’s least favourite format.
@STATrob

KEY TAKEAWAY: TRACK THE SNIPPETS
IN YOUR SPACE.
See how snippet appearance and formats are changing, track
their volatilit...

READ MORE:  
GETSTAT.COM/VOLATILITY
@STATrob

SearchLove London 2017 | Rob Bucci | Reverse-Engineering Google's Research on What Searchers are Looking for

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