Search’s Golden Triangle

From the arcane, precise, and utterly fascinating world of SEO, or search engine optimization, comes this bit of wisdom, published on webproworld.com.

At a recent SEO symposium, Gord Hotchkiss of Enquiro showed a Google search results page with an “eye tracking map” that looked similar to a thermal imagery chart (with the “hotspots” showing the most eye contact). The study distinctly showed most eyes look at the top left corner of the search results, with a small coverage at the top of the paid search results.

Hotchkiss explained that a users’ eye is drawn to a triangle pattern which he named “Search’s Golden Triangle”, with searchers scanning from the top left to the page’s “fold” line and then left (in a triangle pattern). While the triangle did not really extend below the fold, 60% of participants scrolled down below the fold, with only 40% taking a look at the paid search results on the right (above fold).

Delightfully complex…yet at the heart of how to effectively work the web.