Interview With Gord Hotchkiss: The Master of User Behavior (Spring 09)

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In understanding search user behavior, no one is a more respected voice than Gord Hotchkiss. He and the research team at Enquiro have built a solid reputation as the leading experts in understanding not only what happens on a search portal, but also why. Gord’s voracious personal curiosity extends into areas as diverse as neurology, psychology, genetics, sociology and anthropology, always with the goal of understanding why we do the things we do and what that means for marketing strategy.

In addition to being the CEO and co-founder of Enquiro, Gord is a director and the past Chairman of SEMPO, a columnist for MediaPost and Search Engine Land, a regular presenter at all the industry shows and a popular keynote speaker.

SMS: Enquiro has taken a fairly unique approach to search engine marketing research. What prompted you to choose eye-tracking over other methods of data collection?

Gord: Eye tracking is only one of the tools we use. We’ve also done survey work, standard usability work, and have even done our first neuro-scanning study with a local university. That said, we do like eye tracking as a tool to gain insight into user behavior because it gives you a deep data set, especially when you combine it with post-session questions. It allows you to combine and compare what people physically see with what they remember seeing. Also, some of the most interesting findings in our eye tracking research come when we slice interactions down on a second-by-second basis. It provides tremendous insight into how people digest and assimilate the content on a page.

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