The Eyes Have It

Turns out we’re an impatient bunch. Eye-tracking research has returned some fascinating results comparing the way people used to search online, to how we search today. These results should make any company with a website start to worry…

If you’re not appearing where this study shows your customers are looking, you’re turning customers away.

Relevancy is King when it comes to attracting traffic to your site. If you’re the most relevant, your website will become a major off-ramp on the traffic motorway that is Google, instead of a gravel road that no-one can find on the map.

These days internet users don’t expect more relevant results, they demand them. The most interesting thing to come out of the new eye-tracking results is how picky people have become about relevancy over time.

Then versus now

Instead of the ‘old days’ where eye-tracking showed people were more prepared to methodically look through an entire search results page to find a relevant result (even clicking on page 2 and 3 to view more results), now we see the majority only look at the very top of the first results page. If they don’t like what they see, they try a different search term, instead of looking further down the page.

Below the fold has become the Bermuda Triangle of the internet, so it’s no longer acceptable to appear just anywhere on page one, you must be at the top.

Here’s the graphical results of the study, comparing search behaviour in 2005 to 2008:

As you can see from the graphic on the right, most people now focus only on the top 5 results, with the majority of clicks going to the top 3 sites. Compare that to the graphic on the left showing search behaviour from 2005, clearly showing more willingness to look through the entire page.

These results reflected the recent trend also reported by Cornell University and AOL, that the top 3 results get 79% and 63% of clicks respectively.

What does this mean to your online business?

The use of Google has become a habit. In the eye tracking study, 97% said Google was the search engine they most often used with 87% stating they wouldn’t bother using anything else.

Internet users have optimised their search behaviour for getting the most relevant results from Google, yet countless companies have not optimised their websites. So if your site isn’t appearing in the top 3 to 5 results when people search for your products or services on Google, the harsh reality is you are losing customers to your competitors.

What you can do about it

To compete in a ‘Google World’ you need to constantly appear in the top 5 results, and ideally the top 3. Here are the 3 areas you need to focus on to divert more of that valuable Google traffic your way…

1. Know your customers search words. What are the search words people use to find your products and services? They may not be what you think. Enlist the help of the right online supplier to do the research for you.

2. Optimise your site for Google. Utilise the power of SEO to make your website content more visible to Google. Over time, this will increase your ‘natural’ ranking on Google, attracting more free traffic to your site and transform your website into a 24/7 salesperson.

3. Get to the top spot instantly. Running a PPC (Pay Per Click) campaign allows you to instantly get your site in the number 1 position, and is one of the most cost-effective forms of marketing available, online and offline (if done right).

As with anything that needs fixing, knowing there’s a problem is half the battle won. If you want your share of Google traffic, show your website decision maker those eye tracking results, then find yourself an online supplier who understands how to compete in the ‘Google World’.