July 17, 2008

New SearchMonkey Enhanced Result Template

We are testing a new template design for Enhanced Result applications. This new template contains two key design improvements that stem directly from recent Yahoo! user research. If our tests are successful (we're exposing 5% of our traffic to this new template), we'll roll it out to all users in the coming months. Developers do not have to perform any actions to take advantage of this new redesign; all Enhanced Result applications will upgrade automatically. Infobar applications will be unaffected.

Original Enhanced Result Designs (Abstract, Key/Value Pair)

New Enhanced Result Designs (Abstract, Key/Value Pair)

Key differences include:

• Images appear to the right of the abstract, rather than the left. Our latest eye-tracking studies indicate that moving the image helps users selectively discover it — without disrupting their ability to scan the search result page. While we know that users do like relevant images, we also know that images can increase the risk that the result resembles an advertisement. Shifting the image to the right reduces the perception of the result as an advertisement, and caused users to report noticing the images more. The new design also helps users engage the image only when they feel it is relevant.

• Links appear in a horizontal row, rather than as a vertical column next to the image. Research indicates that deep links are more discoverable when presented separately from the image. Additionally, moving the links into a horizontal row provides more real estate for the summary and key/value pairs.

In a subsequent post, one of our researchers will dive into the data behind this redesign in much more detail. Meanwhile, stay tuned — we'll let you know when the new designs are about to go live!

Evan Goer
Yahoo! SearchMonkey Team

Posted at July 17, 2008 10:49 AM

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