Are you in the 'Golden Triangle'

A recent eye tracking study shows that there is a "golden triangle" where 100% of searchers look when using search engines.

After all the buzz about the importance and benefits of being on the first page of search results, we have even more evidence that being in the top three is even more important. An eye tracking study done by Enquiro, shows that there is a "golden triangle" where all searchers look when looking for results. As you move outside the triangle, your chances of being seen drop quickly.

Organic Ranking and Percentage of Views

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%

Further analysis shows that the "Sponsored Listings" receive much fewer views and fewer click throughs (although we already commented about how organic results get more clicks than PPC.)

Relevance is the next most important thing once your site has placed in the top 3. Searchers make a quick decision (remember that people don't figure things out, they muddle through) and click the one they think is most relevant to their search.

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.

This gives even more credibility to placing your keywords as close to the front of your title tag as possible to get users to scan down the rest of your title and description. Placing those keywords at the beginning is also beneficial in optimizing your site to getting into those top 3 spots.

Just goes to show how important SEO is becoming to get people into your site.

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Filed Under: First Page, Golden Triangle, Search Engine Study, Credibility, SEO

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