Avinash Kaushik - world leader in web business optimisation
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Search engine eyetracking research - SEO & PPC
When I'm training on search engine marketing, and I ask "do you click on the paid or sponsored listings", most marketers are cynical that anyone clicks on the paid or sponsored listings, because they themselves aren't. Eyetracking research and the results of PPC campaigns tends to show things differently. You can download this Eyetracking research which has interesting data for Google and the other search engines. You did notice Google changed the background colour of its top results in early April from Blue to Yellow - first change in 5+ years - so they must have been doing some testing too...
Eyetracking research for SEO and PPC
These are the key answers from this eyetracking study to the questions search engine marketers should ask about searchers' interactions with the search results.
What proportion of searchers look at paid or natural listings?
- 98% of the respondents viewed the organic results
- 95% the sponsored results at the top
- 31% the sponsored results on the right.
This shows the well-known importance of getting within the natural listings or in top 1-3 slots of the sponsored listings within Google. Many think you buy your way to the top, but you have to have a good quality score to get in the top sponsored listing results in Google.
How many listings do searchers view?
On average are 9.2 results were viewed before the first click was made. The average number of viewed organic search results is 6.6. Of the sponsored results at the top and on the right respectively 2.6 and 0.6 results were viewed.
How long do searchers view ads for?
Average viewing duration per result: 1.1 second - so the report notes that advertisers should communicate within the consumer in a very short period of time. The average viewing duration for a search result is 1.1 second. The average viewing duration for an organic result is 1,3 seconds and for a sponsored result at the top 0,8 second. The sponsored results on the right were viewed only short (average 0.2 seconds).
Why do searchers click on an ad?
The research also had some good qualitative analysis of motives for clicking on a search result. Fairly obvious, but a useful reminder:
(1) the familiarity with and reliability of the website or organization.
Keywords which refer to a brand are therefore very important.
(2) A high position in the search results also creates
trust and suggests to the respondents that the information is recent.
(3) A third important reason for clicking is the presence of the keyword in the search
result.
(4) Consumers are also looking for certain website services such as the
opportunity to read user experiences or to compare different products.
(5) (Indirect) price information is important: especially keywords which refer to ‘low costs’.
(6) The announcement that there is a large variety of products can also be a reason for
respondents to click on the search result.
(7) Consumers seem to avoid results with aggressive advertising. Preventing (too) many capital letters and exclamation marks can positively [the search networks to restrict this to some degree anyway].
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