According to this article in Search Engine Watch,
A new eyetracking study has added tangible evidence to the widely held view that top-ranking search results get the most attention from users, and that lower-ranking results are all but invisible to most people.
The study found that most viewers looked at results in an "F" shaped scan pattern, with the eye travelling vertically along the far left side of the results looking for visual cues (relevant words, brands, etc) and then scanning to the right, as if something caught the participant's attention.
The researchers called this pattern a "golden triangle" at the top of result pages. The findings of this eye tracking study lend further credibility to the notion that organic search engine optimization is still critical to the overall success of a search marketing campaign.
The eye tracking study offers a major reason why: People continue to favor organic listings over paid search listings, unless the paid search listing is at the top of the page.
You can see the screenshot of what viewers saw in the study here.
# posted by Priya Shah @ 2:56 AM
