By the company Nielsen Norman Group a study was conducted that examined how netizens interact with search results.
This study led to the following conclusions:
- If a carousel with products, videos or blocks with answers appears in the search results, users viewed this information in 74% cases.
- In order to select one of the results that participated in the search query, a person, on average, spent 5.7 seconds.
- Due to the fact that the search results page includes not only regular search results, but also advertising, interactive, and other elements, the study participants viewed this information in a non-linear way.
- The distribution of users’ attention was determined by the SERP elements. It has been revealed that SERP layout plays a big role in making clicks on certain links. The closer organic results are to visually appealing elements, the more they attract users’ attention.
The image shows how the user distributes attention when working with search results: first, his gaze falls on the cards with products, then moves to the advertisement, then to the block with the answers, followed by the “People Also Ask” block. Only after these actions does a person begin to get acquainted with the first organic result.
- The first result, located immediately below the search bar, according to statistics of 2019, collected approximately 28% clicks. In 2009, 51% of users clicked on the first result.
- The first three positions still get the most clicks. – 59%… Sites below the top 3 are attracting more users today than in 2006.
- When searching for information on navigation questions and queries of any facts, the user viewed the results below the “fold line” only in five% cases. For more complex questions, the study participants were interested in a larger number of results in twenty% cases.
- People accessed the second page with search results only for 2% requests.
For the study, an analysis was made of 471 requests made in the period from 2017 to 2019. In parallel with this work, the company’s specialists carried out eye tracking testing.
Source: Search Engine Land
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