Google's Golden Triangle
We've always known that top rankings on search engines is key to driving volumes of targeted traffic to your website. In 2005 we saw empirical proof of that via an amazing study performed by Enquiro, an online research company. Using new Eye-Tracking technology, Enquiro was the first to discover what has come to be known as the "Golden Triangle". (See Graphic Below).
After analyzing data from thousands of search engine users, Enquiro aggregated all this data into a one page overlay (shown above) that clearly shows where users look on search engine results pages.
The colors represent a "Heat Map" with the hotter colors (Red, Orange, Yellow) representing a greater degree of eye movement while cooler colors (Blues) represent a lesser degree of eye traffic. The X's in the graphic show where users clicked in reference to where they they look; the red lines represent different screen resolutions. Higher resolutions show more listings above the scroll.
Since this ground breaking study, scores of other eye-tracking studies have been performed with astonishing similar results. Even when these studies are performed on individual websites (Walmart, Microsoft, Dell) a distinct triangle pattern emerges, clearly indicating that the top left of a given web page generates the highest amount of eye traffic.
You'll note that there is a significant drop off in eye movement even on the first page of results. Check out these Google images for other references. At the 2006 Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose, other information was released that further indicates the importance of ranking. At this conference the results of another search engine usage study reported the following:
- The number of search users viewing page one of results is about 100%
- The number of search users viewing page two of results falls to only 17%
- The number of search users viewing page three of results falls to only 4%
It should be obvious then that a top ranking on Google - or other search engines - is key to maximizing your search engine traffic. Not only must your site be listed on page one of search engine results for your keywords, you must be above the scroll, ideally within the first three listings.
In part one of this search engine primer, we learned that search engines use relevance to determine ranking, thus placement. Now that we understand the extreme importance of ranking, we'll delve into that further in part 3 of this series. You're about to learn the basics of the art & science of Search Engine Optimization - SEO.