Snack pack versus clickthrough results

[zach.todd]

This might be a dumb question, but has anyone seen the snack pack results differ from you see when drilling into "View more"? As in the 3 or 4 shown in the snack pack aren't in the top 3-4 spots when you click through.

I know ads can impact this, but my question is more around the strictly non-paid results.

Thanks!

 

[Colan Nielsen]

Not a dumb question at all. I don't think there is a definitive answer though. I have mostly speculated that there can be an adjustment to the weight of certain ranking factors if someone doesn't find what they need in the 3-pack and feel the need to "View More" to find what they are looking for.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

For instance, if the initial 3-pack result Google returns is heavily proximity based, and the searcher is like "Nah, none of these is what I want" perhaps when they click on "View More" Google turns down the proximity dial and increases the "has amazing reviews" score since proximity may not be the most important factor for this user.

 

[zach.todd]

That makes sense @Colan Nielsen, I can believe that Google might adjust based on ignoring the 3 pack. In my own limited testing, I haven't seen the results differ -- aside from ads of course.

I'll post here if I can find an example where the results change up after clicking through.

 

[Yan Gilbert]

I've frequently seen the order change slightly, usually placement number 3 swaps with 4. But never a completely new set.

 

[Eoghan_Aircam]

+1 have seen the order change slightly but not consistently or dramatically.