- The user begins to enter a search query into the Google search box and clicks anywhere on the page (search result, display, suggestion, similar search).
- The user chooses a particular query by clicking the Search button, or hits the enter button or selects one of the automatically completed searches.
- The user terminates the input and the results will be displayed at least 3 seconds.
EyeTracking heatmap before Google Instant:
(Source: konversionskraft.de)
EyeTracking heatmap with Google Instant:
(Source: konversionskraft.de)
As you can see, in the new version gaze is more focused on the search field and less on the ads below. This result would therefore rather suggest a worsening of the CTR. However at this point one can’t make any precise predictions on how Instant will change the overall performance of AdWords campaigns. So we will have to wait until we can actually measure the campaign performance and compile significant statistics. We will keep you updated!