I have to admit that I do not use real time results as much as I should. When I decided to write this post, I searched a few terms before I was shown a real time search results section (I had to resort to entering “Tiger Woods” into my search – there is no doubt I wouldn’t find up to date reports on that). I have no doubt that there are times when I conduct a search and ignore the real time results, not out of spite, but merely because I forget that they are actually there. This is my search results routine but is it yours?

Recently, Oneupweb conducted a number of eye tracking studies in an attempt to see if people notice real time results and if they are used in their web search practices. The results from the experiment were varied and it seems that I am not the only one that doesn’t see real time in my search results. The study hoped to reveal if internet users understood, noticed and utilised the real time application in their search results letting them utilise and additional and advanced search function. From this study, Oneupweb revealed that 73% of users did not know what real time results were and 25% of consumer users took real time into consideration when they were performing a search as opposed to 47% of users using the search for information purposes. The study also showed that many users only understood what real time search results were after conducting the experiment.

eye tracking

Despite these results, Google still stands by the real time search results section and are constantly updating its features to support a wide range of searches. Recently, Google included Facebook page updates on its real time web results page so now you can search for your top celebrity or brand and hopefully see the real time search results that come with it. Because Facebook has more than 3 million pages, it is very unlikely that an ordinary user will pop up on real time results and have their fifteen minutes of search fame. Other social networks are not left out in the cold though, as Twitter and MySpace also have real time search results on their SERPS.

You might not know this if you are a Google only searcher, but there are other search engines that use real time results in their SERPS. Bing, for example, provides a separate page for real time results where visitors can go if they intend on receiving the latest news on their desired search. Other search engines provide whole pages of real time results on hot topics.

Ask yourself this – do real time results improve your search result experience and better your chances of finding what you are looking for? For me personally, it is a welcomed addition to my normal search routine and that, in combination with the news results and the regular results, make it easier to find what I am looking for in a shorter amount of time. If not is not making a negative impact in search results and helping some users then there is no reason it should be removed in my opinion. Many may think that real time search may not be Google’s most successful effort but hey, they have many more of those up their sleeves.

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