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Google - The End?
February2, 2006 |
We are in the middle of completing a new research project (for a look at
our past research projects, visit the
research section of our
site) in which we look at how users of MSN and Yahoo use and
perceive the website.
Early on in the project one of the members of our research team had an
interesting theory: Perhaps what we see on the home page of either MSN
or Yahoo! could affect how we perceive and interact with the search
results.
You see, there is generally a second or two between when a searcher
launches a search on the site and when they are shown the results of
their search. In that time, the user’s eye wanders around the page they
are on.
In the case of both Yahoo! and MSN they display news headlines and other
information on their home pages (which is where most people launch their
searches from).
So what happens is the user comes to the homepage of the site with the
intent of doing a search. They enter their search criteria and, for a
second or so while they wait for results, they are scanning the page
they are on. Some people do this knowingly, but I believe many do it
subconsciously.
Our researcher’s theory is that if there is negative news on the page
they are looking at, immediately before they are presented the results,
their judgment of those results is clouded by what they’ve seen or read.
In fact, this theory applies not only to what is read but also what is
seen - a negatively perceived image could also negatively impact the
user’s experience without them even knowing it.
For example, as I was reviewing some of my own results, I came across an
image from an MSN homepage in which there is a picture of the Whitehouse
taken through a fence. The Whitehouse is silhouetted against a darkening
sky.
Upon reviewing my feeling of this image, I found it to be a little
disturbing - perhaps reviving old childhood memories of haunted houses
and the feelings one gets from such a place. In any case, I didn’t have
a positive impression of the image (Which I was only exposed to for a
fraction of a second) yet I feel it may have clouded my judgment of the
results which soon appeared on my screen. (My results aren’t included in
the research, it was merely a test I did on my own to see if this theory
could be correct).
It’s still too early to tell if this is indeed the case, however just
discussing it among ourselves we feel this is a highly probable scenario
- that what you see just prior to those results will impact how you
react to those results.
What we hope to be able to find out (among other things) is that people
found the results less relevant and perhaps found the overall experience
less helpful merely because of the text and imagery they were exposed to
while waiting for the search results page to load.
Imagine that, though: If we can prove that what the search engine
displays on their portal page actually impacts the success of the
search, then search engines may have to rethink the whole portal concept
(or at the very least, place less information which could impact the
search experience)
This would be an interesting test to perform on Google in the future as
well because, up until recently, Google’s homepage was pretty plain -
just a few tabs, a search box and some other links. But recently Google
launched a personalized home page one could have if they have a Google
account. I myself have such a homepage.
So I’m beginning to wonder if the various headlines I’m exposed to on
that page are affecting my perception of the Google results.
In any case, we hope to have this research completed soon, and at that
time we should know how close we are to being correct on this
assumption. So be sure to keep checking back to our site, or monitor the
research section, because soon we will have the new research available. |
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Rob Sullivan
Head Organic Search Strategist
Search Engine Positioning by Searchengineposition
Enquiro Full Service Search Engine Marketing
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