When did Google start serving less than 10 results on the first page?

[Wpow]

I must have missed something but when did Google start serving between 7 and 10 organic results on the first page based on how competitive the ad space is (I assume)?

[Andy Langton]

Hi Wpow, and welcome to WebmasterWorld :)

This has been happening for some time now. For instance, see this discussion from 2012:

Google 1st Page - Only 7 Listings When #1 has Sitelinks [webmasterworld.com]

Since, then there are various cases where there are less than (or sometimes more than) 10 results on the first page.

In the main, this seems to be tied into a few factors, including what "non-web" results are showing (e.g. social media, news, images, etc.) and Google's prediction about which results the searcher is likely to want. There's no link with ads that I've seen.

[Wpow]

Thanks Andy! Sorry to be a pain. I tried to site search but too many results to dig through. Getting back into the SEO side of life. I've been in the biz since before the first Pub Con in London which my company attended (not me though). I cant remember my old login. Anyhoo thanks!

Wpow

[Andy Langton]

Not a pain at all! One thing I have noticed and not really seen discussed is some results pages that have eleven web results. But the number is certainly variable depending on a particular search.

[MrSavage]

Just recently on the mobile search page, I'm not sure I saw more than a few. It was astonishing. Blew me away. You get on page one of mobile results and that's becoming nothing short of hall of fame achievement. I realize it's fewer spots but it was ads ads then other stuff, but no real results to speak of. There may have been one or two honestly.