A study was recently released from Mediative, which looked at the way people today are using Google for search. The information was compared to data from the past 10 years so see how people’s search habits are changing. This study used eye tracking software, which analyzed where people were looking while performing different search related tasks. There is a lot of information in the study, much of which can help marketers to better plan their SEO and marketing strategies.
On the study’s page, they listed some of the things they were hoping to learn from the data, including the following (taken directly from their page, linked below):
- Where on the SERP do searchers look and click the most?
- How important is the location of a listing to win views and clicks from searchers?
- How does the complex SERP affect a strategy to be found and seen by potential customers?
- How has click activity per listing position changed with the introduction of Google’s new SERP elements?
The data that was generated has helped to answer these questions, and for many, the results may be surprising. For example, they found that the #1 spot in the SERPs isn’t quite as popular as it used to be. In 2005, over half of people’s attention (visuals and clicks) went to the first spot. Today, that has dropped dramatically, and as long as you are in the top four spots, you’ll be getting just as much attention as the #1 spot did in 2005. This is perhaps due, in at least some part, to the fact that many people are directing their attention down on the page to skip over the paid advertisements, which almost everyone today knows about.
The amount of time searchers are spending looking at the different results has gone down as well. It averaged about 2 seconds per search in 2005, but today it is just 1.17 seconds. This may be credited to the fact that people are becoming ‘better searchers’ and know exactly what they are looking for.
Overall the report is quite interesting, and definitely something that any marketer who relies on Google for traffic should be reading. You can find it HERE.
