Clicking Through the Pages Again: Google Ditches Continuous Search
Gone are the days of endlessly scrolling through search results on Google. The tech giant recently announced it’s retiring the continuous scroll feature, familiar from social media feeds, and returning to a pagination system. This means you’ll see a limited number of results on each page, typically around 10, and will need to click “Next” or a specific page number to see more.
Why the Farewell to Endless Scrolling?
While continuous scrolling seemed like a seamless way to browse information, Google’s internal testing suggests it might have hindered users’ ability to find what they were looking for. With an endless stream of results, it might have been easy to miss relevant information buried deeper in the scroll, or simply get overwhelmed by the constant influx. Additionally, some users might have stopped actively searching after a certain point, leading to fewer clicks on potentially valuable results and even fewer saved (“favorited”) pages for future reference.
A Return to Pagination: Benefits for Users and Google
The switch back to pagination aims to improve search efficiency and user experience in several ways. By pre-loading only the initial set of results, Google expects to deliver search pages faster, especially for users on slower internet connections. Pagination can also help users focus their search by requiring them to deliberately navigate to the next page. This can be beneficial for those who find themselves getting sucked into the endless scroll rabbit hole and spending more time browsing than actually finding what they need.
Overall, this change signals a shift in Google’s search result presentation. While some users might miss the convenience of continuous scrolling, the potential benefits for focus, efficiency, and ultimately, search satisfaction are worth considering. It’s also important to note that this change might take some getting used to, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself instinctively reaching for the bottom of the page in the coming days!
