Archive for October, 2008
Google Eye Tracking
October 22nd, 2008
MatthewNew EyeTracking Study verifies the importance of page position and rank in both Organic and PPC search results for visibility and click through.
A joint eye tracking study conducted by search marketing firms Enquiro and Did-it and eye tracking firm Eyetools has shown that the vast majority of eye tracking activity during a search happens in a triangle at the top of the search results page indicating that the areas of maximum interest create a “golden triangle.”
The first phase of the study was conducted with 50 people in Eyetools’ eye tracking lab in San Francisco, California and presented panel participants with 5 distinct scenarios that would require the use of a search engine. Google was used as the search engine in all of the instances.
Key Preliminary Findings of the Study included
The key location on Google for visibility as determined by the eye activity in the study is a triangle that extends from the top of the results over to the top of the first result, then down to a point on the left side at the bottom of the “above the fold” visible results. This key area was looked at by 100 percent of the participants. In the study, this was referred to as the “Golden Triangle”. Generally, this area appears to include top sponsored, top organic results and Google’s alternative results, including shopping, news or local suggestions.
Visibility dropped quickly with organic rankings, starting at a high of 100% for the top listing, dropping to 85% at the bottom of the “above the fold” listings, and then dropping dramatically below the fold from 50% at the top to 20% at the bottom.
Organic Ranking Visibility
(shown in a percentage of participants looking at a listing in this location)
Rank 1 – 100%
Rank 2 – 100%
Rank 3 – 100%
Rank 4 – 85%
Rank 5 – 60%
Rank 6 – 50%
Rank 7 – 50%
Rank 8 – 30%
Rank 9 – 30%
Rank 10 – 20%
Eye scan and click through behavior changes dramatically as users moved “below the fold” to the section of results that required scrolling down. At the top of the page, the amount of eye movement declined rapidly through the top 4 or 5 results, and then at the bottom of the screen, tends to become more consistent through to the end of the page.
In searches where top sponsored results are returned in addition to right sponsored ads, the top ads received much higher visibility, being seen by 80 to 100% of participants, as opposed to 10 to 50% of participants who looked at the side sponsored ads.
On side sponsored ads, the top ranked results received much more in the way of both eye activity and click through. About 50% of participants looked at the top ad, compared to only 10% who looked at ads in the 6, 7 or 8th location on the page.
Side sponsored ad visibility
(shown in percentage of participants looking at an ad in this location)
1 – 50%
2 – 40%
3 – 30%
4 – 20%
5 – 10%
6 – 10%
7 – 10%
8 – 10%
There seems to be a “F” shaped scan pattern, where the eye tends to travel vertically along the far left side of the results looking for visual cues (relevant words, brands, etc) and then scanning to the right if something caught the participant’s attention.
These results come from an initial analysis of the results and were presented during sessions at the Search Engine Strategies conference in New York. While interesting, the study’s main findings are still to come and will required detailed analysis of individual behavior patterns.
Did It’s Kevin Lee said, “At this point, we weren’t too surprised at what we’ve seen in the study. We suspected much of this to be true prior to conducting it. However, there is tremendous value in confirming these suspicions, especially in a way that’s so visually compelling. It also proves that our methodology will hold up for phase 2 of the research. On the sponsored search side, data indicates that it is the clear branding and visibility advantage offered by gaining top positions, especially Google’s top sponsored links. Unfortunately, these aren’t always presented with a search. Google is a little fickle in this regard.”
Enquiro’s Gord Hotchkiss added, “We see a marked difference in how people say they search and what they actually do. Previous research had indicated that people were considered searchers and spent some time before choosing a link. The past few studies we’ve done, this one included, shows that there’s a huge importance placed on where the eyeballs end up on the page. Clicks happen pretty quickly. It just shows that search marketing is a real estate game. It’s all about location, location, location.”
Eyetools’ CTO Greg Edwards also commented, “Eyetracking is the enabling tool that fills in the gaps to understand why people click or don’t click — by quantifying what people consider before the decision to click or leave is made, companies can start to better anticipate and design to satisfy people’s needs. Applying this in the search results arena enables companies to better plan their marketing communication and increase conversions.”
This research is ongoing and the phase 1 results are highly encouraging. After further analysis is done, the results will be made available to the public through white papers. Further findings will be announced as they become available.
Flash. SEO Friendly?
October 17th, 2008
MatthewAdobe is teaming up with search engine powerhouses like Google and Yahoo to enhance search engine indexing of Adobe Flash content. Read the press release here.
This is an amazing step forward for web content writers and producers! Now it’ll be easier and faster to make engaging, interactive, rich web content and still leave it accessible to search engine crawling. These are the kinds of trends we look for when we research and develop marketing solutions for our clients–and you better believe this will impact the deliverables we provide.
Temecula Chamber Competes with Members
October 7th, 2008
MatthewThe Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce is drawing fire from those who design Web sites for running an advertisement that suggests the business group is getting into the same line of work.
An advertisement that appeared in the chamber’s September newsletter announced the nonprofit would offer a service to help businesses start their own Web sites.
“Starting in October, the (chamber) will provide quality web design and domain names at affordable prices!” the newsletter ad reads. “Get your ideal domain name and optimize your website!”
The ad mentions a Web site link for a massage business. The site appears to have been done by the chamber, which also mentions the cost for the Web service starts at $199.
Matthew Burlile, of 7 Day Web Design in Temecula, said he was shocked at the prospect of the chamber being a competitor.
“I feel they defrauded me in the sense that I’m paying them to help build my business and they decide to compete against me,” Burlile said Friday. “I’m paying a competitor a membership fee.”
Burlile said he’s been a chamber member for the past five years, paying dues of $300 annually.
Kurt Peck, of Peck Creative in Temecula, said Monday he’s probably not going to renew his chamber membership.
“(The chamber) should not be doing anything that’s competing with their membership,” Peck said.
Chamber Board of Directors Chairman Stanley Harter said the September ad’s appearance was premature. He said the board has not yet decided whether to offer Web design services.
Anything the chamber offered would be “very basic,” with clients in need of more services being referred to members who could help them, Harter, an attorney, said.
Harter added that the chamber is not seeking to compete with its members and only wants to help members’ businesses succeed.
But Josh Paul, of Alexander Paul Design Studios in Murrieta, said he’s concerned the basic services described by Harter will mirror what he does. The pricing for the basic Web design service by the chamber is about what he would charge, he said.
“Where they start is where I start now,” he said. If the chamber’s goal is to promote its businesses, “it seems like they would build a bridge between me and the companies that need Web sites.”
Burlile on Monday said the massage business Web site shows the chamber has produced at least one site.
“It’s interesting to see them backpedal now,” he said. “Hopefully, that’s a good sign.”
Chamber spokeswoman Emily Pulley said the massage Web site was just a prototype.
The Murrieta Chamber of Commerce does not offer Web design services.
Besides lacking the staff to create Web sites, chamber Chairman and CEO Rex Oliver said, “That’s not something we ever feel we should do, is compete with our members.”
Harter and other chamber officials will meet with the chamber’s Web design and graphic artist members behind closed doors Oct. 21. Harter said he hopes to get input from the members before taking the issue to the Board of Directors.
lightview
October 4th, 2008
MatthewI came across a great option for galleries. Lightview:
Lightview was built to change the way you overlay content on a website.
- Clean: Designed to compliment your content.
- Fast: Smart image preloading.
- Easy: Customizable without having to know CSS.
- Rounded: Adjustable rounded corners, without PNGs.
- Smart: Content resizes to always fit on your screen.
- Slideshow: One button slideshow.
- Works on all modern browsers.
Google Chrome
October 2nd, 2008
MatthewAfter years of mounting speculations, Google has finally entered the browser war by releasing Google Chrome - a browser that combines minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the Web faster, safer and easier. Google Chrome which is still in beta is currently only available for Windows and a Mac version will be released within the next few months.
Google Chrome has received lots of attention in the Web design and development industry. It has become yet another browser for us to test our sites in, but given that it is based on the Webkit engine (same rendering engine used by Safari), most compliant sites will render perfectly. There are also several developer tools included in Google Chrome like the Web Inspector that allows you to view DOM elements and the JavaScript Debugger. If you are a Web designer or developer, it is worth checking Chrome’s FAQ for web developers.
It is still too early to forecast what share Google Chrome will have on the browser market, but statistics so far shows that it has been embraced by tech-savvy users only.