Google has been performing a test study on users and the way they find and select results after performing a search. The eye tracking study that they performed seemed to show that Google’s results pages are well laid out and easy to navigate for the average user.

The results seem to suggest that users will look at Google’s search results in order. The most looked at part of the Google results pages is the number one spot – not a huge surprise. However, more research was also done to see whether thumbnails would aid or hinder the user’s search. It turns out that thumbnails don’t really affect the search too much, but they did seem to aid the user in skipping results that aren’t relevant.

Eye tracking software has been used by many SEO companies in the past to determine whether or not the search engine rankings are working in favour of a client or not. 9 times out of 10 the user will focus on the top part of the page and organic search engine results are always the most popular. However, there is evidence to suggest that paid for results (sponsored links) are more popular than the bottom half of the page, proving that pay per click marketing is worthwhile.

After Google’s research and studies, they concluded that their results pages are highly usable and informative, but of course, they used additional forms of research to determine this result. Eye tracking studies are almost as good as reading people’s minds, but they should always be used in conjunction with other methods such as surveys, interviews and live experiments.

It’s surprising how fast the eyes move over a search results page but when viewed in real time you can almost see the thought process of the user. Google also commented on certain other aspects such as image results and Google News results which are always being improved by testing with eye tracking studies.

Source – Google Blog