Recently, Ignite Visibility conducted a survey to find out what searchers generally look for in search results and what are the factors that influence their decision to click. They analyzed over 500 searchers, aged 25-60 years, and found that meta description, brand name and page title have the most influence on whether or not users click through on a search result.
Meta descriptions emerge clear winners
The study showed that 62.9% of the participants claimed that it was the meta descriptions that had the largest influence on their decision to click. 24.2% of the respondents admitted that the brand name is more important to them, whereas 13% said it is the page title that acts as the deciding factor. 55.1% of the searchers admitted to clicking only on the brands that they had heard of.
As it turns out, ads in the search results are not really appreciated
66.7%, i.e. two-thirds of the respondents, said that the increasing number of ads in Google’s search results makes them want to use the search engine less. These findings contradict the studies that were conducted in December 2018, which showed that 75% of the searchers claimed the ads made it easier for them to find the information they needed.
Majority of the users agreed that the search results have improved
Around 58.5% of the participants said that they prefer Google search results as they are now as compared to how they were in January 2019. Similarly, about 55.5% of the respondents said that by including featured snippets and other SERP features Google has improved its search results.
Final Takeaway
This survey has shed a light on why it is so important to write powerful meta descriptions. Especially, since Google now holds the right to decide whether your description is apt enough or a more accurate one can be taken directly from the page’s content.
Also, as per this study, even though brand recognition takes the second place, when it comes to influencing clickthroughs, building brand awareness is essential to gain and capitalize on organic visibility.
Furthermore, considering that the searchers prefer the modern search result pages and features, brands must adapt to regain visibility. One way to do so is by designing content keeping in mind rich results.