iProspect has released findings of a blended search results study that shows that user behavior is being impacted by search results. According to the findings, users are more likely to click on the blended results (news story, video, or image) than one of the ~10 actual links themselves. Search Engine Watch provides a summary of the findings and concludes that a lot of companies are still not taking advantage of blended search. However, perhaps you now should.
According to the data provided, 36% of users recall clicking on a news item, 31% recall clicking on an image, 17% recall clicking on video, 25% don't remember what they were doing after they completed the search, and only 19% say they clicked on a "regular" search result. The numbers are substantial and they speak for themselves. Blended search is here to stay and you need to evolve or die out.
Forum discussion continues at Sphinn.
