I just wrote 4 posts on some trends that are happening on the 1st SERP combined with a growing number of B2C and B2B vertical aggregator web sites that are trying to make money by adding value (along with adding more clicks) to relevant online search results. The 5th post of mine that could be included in these same trends entitled "Is The Search Engine User & Consumer Really King?" tells of Google's recently increased number of "Sponsored Links" at the top of the "Golden Triangle" on that PRIME REAL ESTATE of the 1st SERP.
The noted web site usability expert Jakob Nielsen's "Search: Visible and Simple" has a section entitled "First Results Page Is Golden". An old Excite (search engine) Study said that 50.5 % of Searchers Never Look Past the First Results Page! Google's own "Technology Overview" on their "Corporate Information" page says "By combining overall importance and query-specific relevance, Google is able to put the most relevant and reliable results first."
So, why my focus on the 1st SERP? It is because I believe that online search and marketing by buyers and sellers will continue to grow as the speed of high speed internet connections grow. My own internet connection will go from DSL to "FiOS" (Fiber Optic Service) on 10/12/05. While connection speed is dependent on a number of factors, I am looking forward to less waiting, and more FAST usage.
As consumers and businesses of all kinds experience faster internet connections, these buyers and sellers probably will start going beyond the 1st SERP more often as their time spent scanning and clicking on links on the 1st SERP gets reduced. This will be good for the consumer-user (saves time & expands viewed relevant results), the client-buyer (saves money as marketer web site optimization expenses come down, due to less of a dominating need to be on the 1st SERP), and the SEO-SEM consultant seller (provides increased client results & therefore increased income for consultants).
Click on this animated image to see how slow my DSL connection to the World Wide Web (globe) is right now (compared to Fiber Optic Internet Service). 
(Animated image courtesy of www.artie.com)
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