Google has started loading more results as you scroll on desktop, so the old “page 2” is no longer a separate click away for many searchers. If you are wondering what continuous scroll on desktop means for your clicks, the short answer is this: page one still gets most of the attention, but results just below it now have a slightly better chance of being seen. Your Search Console numbers may also shift a little.
In this article I explain what changed on 5 December 2022, who sees it, how it affects impressions, clicks and position data, and what I would do about it this month.
What Google Changed on Desktop Search
On 5 December 2022, Google said it was bringing continuous scrolling to desktop search results. It applies to English searches in the United States. When a searcher reaches the bottom of a results page, the next set of results loads by itself instead of the searcher clicking a page number.
Google said searchers can now see up to six pages of results this way. After that, a “More results” button appears for anyone who wants to keep going. So this is not endless scrolling. It is a longer page with a clear stop point.
Google also said the rollout may take some time to reach every US user. If you check a search today and still see page numbers, that does not mean the change is not happening. It may simply not have reached your browser yet.
This Already Happened on Mobile
None of this is brand new. Google brought continuous scrolling to mobile search in October 2021, also for most English searches in the US. In that announcement, Google said most people who want more information browse up to four pages of results, and continuous scroll lets them do that without tapping “See more”.
So desktop is catching up with mobile. That is useful, because we already have a year of mobile behaviour to learn from. In my experience, the mobile change did not turn page two into page one. It mostly made lower results a bit more visible for searchers who were already digging.
Who Sees Continuous Scroll on Desktop
Right now, the change is limited. Here is who is affected and who is not:
- Affected: desktop searchers in the US who search in English.
- Already affected since 2021: mobile searchers in the US who search in English.
- Not affected yet: searchers in other countries and other languages, on both desktop and mobile.
If your audience is mostly in India, the UK, Australia or anywhere outside the US, you will probably see little change for now. If you sell to US customers, especially B2B buyers who search at work on a laptop, this is more relevant to you.
I always tell clients to look at their own country and device split before they react to any search news. A change that matters a lot for one site can mean almost nothing for another.
What Continuous Scroll on Desktop Means for Clicks
This is the question most people care about. Will you get more clicks, fewer clicks, or the same? The honest answer is that it depends on where you rank today.
If You Rank in the Top Few Positions
Very little changes. People who find what they need near the top still click and leave. Continuous scroll does not push the top results down. It only adds more results below them.
There is one small risk. A searcher who would have stopped at the bottom of page one may now keep scrolling and click something lower. I would not lose sleep over this. Searchers who scroll past the top results were often not going to click them anyway.
If You Rank on Page Two or Three
This is where things get more interesting. Before, a result in position 11 to 20 needed the searcher to click “Next” to be seen. Many never did. Now those results can appear just by scrolling a little further.
That gives pages on the old page two a better chance to earn an impression and, sometimes, a click. But I would keep expectations modest. Being seen is not the same as being chosen. A result in position 14 still sits below 13 other options, plus ads and other search features.
If Your Result Has a Strong Title and Snippet
When people scroll through a long list, they skim. A clear title and a helpful description stand out more than ever. A result that clearly matches the search can pull a click away from a vague result that ranks higher.
This is the part you can actually control. You cannot make people scroll, but you can make your result worth clicking when they do.
How Continuous Scroll Affects Search Console Data
Google has said this change may affect Search Console data, because searchers may scroll more or less than before. To understand why, you need to know how Search Console counts impressions and position.
How Impressions Are Counted
An impression is counted when your result appears on the page a searcher is viewing. On a normal paged result, everything on page one counts, even if the searcher did not scroll down to it.
For results that load as you scroll, the rule is different. Google’s help page on impressions, position and clicks says that in infinite scroll, a result must typically be scrolled into view to count an impression. It also says that scrolling back and forth does not count as multiple impressions.
In plain words: a result on the old page two now gets an impression only when someone scrolls far enough to load it and see it. Before, it got an impression only when someone clicked through to page two.
How Position Is Counted
Position is counted from top to bottom on the main side of the page. With continuous scroll, the numbering simply carries on. The first result after the original ten is still around position 11.
Your average position should not jump just because of this change. What may change is which queries show up with data at all, because more of your lower rankings may now earn impressions.
What You Might See in Your Reports
Here is what I expect could happen on sites with US desktop traffic:
- More impressions for queries where you rank on page two or three. If more people scroll into that range, more of your lower results are counted.
- A slightly lower average position for the site as a whole. This sounds bad, but it can happen when new low-ranking impressions are added to the average. Your real rankings may not have moved at all.
- A lower click-through rate. More impressions without many more clicks means CTR goes down. Again, this can be a reporting effect, not a real loss.
- New queries in the report. Queries where you rank on page two may appear for the first time.
I would not assume any of these will happen on your site. I would just be ready to recognise them if they do, so you do not mistake a reporting shift for a ranking drop.
How to Check the Impact on Your Site
The change started on 5 December, so you need a few weeks of data before you can say anything useful. Here is the process I plan to follow.
- Open the Performance report in Search Console. Use the Search results report and turn on all four metrics: clicks, impressions, CTR and average position.
- Filter by country and device. Add a Country filter for the United States and a Device filter for Desktop. This is the only group affected by the new change.
- Compare before and after. Once you have about four weeks of data, compare the 28 days after 5 December with the 28 days before. Make sure the date ranges are the same length.
- Use the same view for non-US desktop traffic. Run the same comparison for other countries. If they move the same way, the cause is probably something else, like the season or a Google update.
- Look at queries ranking from 11 to 30. Sort the Queries tab by position and focus on queries in that range. These are the ones most likely to gain impressions.
- Check clicks, not just impressions. If impressions go up but clicks stay flat, nothing has really changed for your business. If clicks also go up, the extra visibility is paying off.
- Write down what you see. Add a note with the date of the change to your reporting, so nobody panics about a CTR drop in January.
One warning about timing. December is a strange month for traffic. Holiday shopping, office closures and end-of-year searches all change how people search. I would treat any December numbers with care and confirm the trend in January.
Also keep an eye on other changes from Google. It is worth checking Google’s list of ranking updates and the Google Search Central Twitter account to see if a ranking update rolled out in the same period. That helps you separate a user interface change like this one from a real ranking change.
What I Would Do About It Now
I do not think continuous scroll on desktop needs a big new strategy. It rewards the same work that already helps. But it does shift a few priorities slightly.
Rewrite Titles and Descriptions on Pages Ranking 8 to 20
These pages sit just above or just below the old page break. They are the most likely to gain views from scrolling. That makes their titles and meta descriptions worth a fresh look.
When I review a title, I ask one question: would a searcher know straight away what this page gives them? Good titles are specific. For example, “Roof Repair Cost in Texas: 2022 Price Guide” says more than “Roof Repair Services | Company Name”.
Remember that Google may rewrite titles and snippets if it thinks they do not match the page. The best defence is a title that honestly describes the main content and matches the main heading on the page.
Push Page-Two Pages Onto Page One
Continuous scroll makes page two easier to reach, but page one is still where most clicks happen. I would not settle for position 12 because more people can see it now.
Pick the pages that rank just outside the top ten for queries that matter. Then improve them:
- Answer the main question near the top of the page.
- Add the details your page is missing compared with the results above it.
- Add internal links from related pages on your site, using clear anchor text.
- Update anything outdated, like prices, screenshots or steps.
This work fits well with Google’s guidance on people-first content from the helpful content update. Pages that clearly help the searcher tend to rise. Pages written mainly to rank tend not to.
Look at Queries You Ignored Before
Many sites only track keywords where they rank in the top ten. With continuous scroll, queries in positions 11 to 30 deserve more attention, because they may now show real impressions.
I like to export these queries and group them by topic. Often you will find a group of related searches where you rank on page two with one weak page. That is a good signal to improve that page or write a better one. If you need a refresher on grouping searches, my guide to keyword research for beginners covers how to turn a list of terms into a content plan.
Do Not Chase Scrolling Tricks
You might see advice to “optimise for scrolling” with clickbait titles or odd symbols. I would skip that. Misleading titles might win a click, but if the page does not deliver, the searcher goes straight back. That does not help you.
The same goes for spreading thin pages across lots of keywords just to appear somewhere in the longer list. Google is clearly focused on content quality this year, and low-value pages are a risk, not a shortcut.
Common Questions About Rank Tracking
If you use a rank tracking tool, you may wonder if your numbers are still right. Most tools report a position number, not a page number. Since position is still counted from the top, a position of 15 still means 15.
What changes is how you think about that number. “Page two” used to mean “almost invisible”. On US desktop searches, it now means “visible to people who keep scrolling”. That is better than before, but it is still not as good as a top three spot.
I would also be careful with reports that sort keywords into “page one” and “page two” buckets. Those labels made sense when pages were separate. For US English searches, it is now more useful to think in position ranges, like 1 to 3, 4 to 10, and 11 to 20.
Is Continuous Scroll Good or Bad for SEO?
In my view, it is mostly neutral, with a small upside for sites that rank just below the top ten. Here is how I see the trade-offs.
The Upside
- Results on the old page two and three can be seen with less effort.
- Smaller sites that rank on page two for competitive terms get a slightly better chance.
- Searchers who want to compare several options can do so more easily, which helps sites with distinct, useful content.
The Downside
- Search Console data may become harder to compare with earlier months.
- CTR and average position may look worse even when nothing real has changed.
- Top results may lose a few clicks to searchers who keep scrolling.
Overall, I would treat this as a reminder rather than a threat. Searchers have more choice on one long page, so the results that win are the ones that look clearly useful at a glance.
How Continuous Scroll Fits With Other 2022 Changes
This change lands at the end of a busy year for Google search. Page experience became a desktop ranking signal in early 2022, which I covered in my article on page experience coming to desktop. Google also launched the helpful content update in August, followed by a core update and a spam update in the autumn.
Continuous scroll is different from those. It is not a ranking update. Google has not said it changes which pages rank or in what order. It changes how searchers move through the results, and how that is counted in Search Console.
That difference matters. If your traffic drops this month, do not blame continuous scroll by default. Check the date, the country, the device and any Google updates first.
Conclusion
Continuous scroll on desktop brings the mobile experience to US English desktop searches. Searchers can now see up to six pages of results without clicking, then a “More results” button appears. For most sites, the effect on clicks will be small. The bigger change may be in your Search Console reports, where impressions, CTR and average position can shift without your rankings moving.
Your next step is simple. Set a reminder for early January, filter Search Console to United States and Desktop, and compare four weeks before and after 5 December. Then pick five pages ranking between positions 8 and 20 and improve their titles, descriptions and content. That is where the extra scrolling is most likely to help you.
