Gord Hotchkiss has just published Enquiro’s recent eye tracking study on Google Universal at Search engine lands.
There seem to be a fundamental shift in scanning when an image is introduced into the results. While the first reaction is to head to the top left corner of the results, seeing the image, people are moving very quickly to the image, checking the copy next to the image first and then making the choice from the listings above and below the image.
The traditional F shape scanning pattern is replaced by an E shape with the user dividing the page into 3 chunks.
The study even goes into looking at personalisation and a future results page where the two may be combined. A great read if you haven’t already.
