Sufficient consensus
The search user interface covers the query box, the result list, filters, previews and the features that sit above organic results. Layout, ordering and truncation are set by the engine.
Interface changes move traffic more than most site changes do.
What the result pages leave out
These belong to the subject. People ask about them. They are missing from the agreed coverage.
- The shrinking organic area. Ads, answer boxes and generated summaries push the first organic result further down, and position one is no longer the first thing on the screen.
- Features that appear and disappear. A listing that earned a rich display can lose it overnight through an interface update, with no change on the site.
- What the interface makes unaskable. A box that answers one type of question makes other types of question harder to pursue.
- Reading order. People scan in patterns that the engine designed for. Your title is read in the middle of that movement.
- The device. A result page on a phone shows a fraction of what a desktop shows. Most planning happens on a desktop.
What people actually want to know
- What does my listing actually look like on a phone, today?
- How much of the first screen is available to organic results for my query?
- What happens to me when the interface changes again?
- Where does the eye arrive first, and what is standing there?
The interface is a rented stage. The only durable asset on it is a line that makes a person want to open the page.
More in human-computer interaction
Interactive information retrievalPeople reformulate because they have learned something.Information foragingThe decision to stay is made before the first paragraph is finished.Visual hierarchyMost readers will see four things on your page.Eye trackingAttention is a prerequisite.SensemakingTen good answers to ten narrow questions can still leave someone unable to decide.Cognitive loadA reader who has to work to follow you has less capacity left for deciding.Usability testingA perfectly usable page can still be the wrong page.