Ways to attract attention

Eye-tracking technology makes it possible to learn a lot about user behavior – regardless of which site they visit, most view content according to specific patterns. The results of such studies can then be applied to your own site to increase conversion.

Not long ago we wrote about 7 eye-tracking studies that help understand which site elements attract user attention. Here are a few more.

Direction of gaze in photos

If a person is shown next to a product in a picture, check where their eyes are directed. In a Sunsilk ad, where the woman looked directly at the viewer, no one paid attention to the product – everyone just looked at the woman. But when she looked at the product, users immediately noticed it.

The same applies to calls-to-action – if you use images of people on your site, make sure their eyes are directed at the most important elements (e.g., web forms) and CTA buttons.

Users love media

If there is an image or video on a page, users will pay more attention to it than to plain text. This is how users’ gaze was distributed in Google results before images and videos were introduced:

This doesn’t mean you should fill the entire page with pictures and videos. Media elements should help sell the product or service, but if they only distract the user – better avoid them.

Men and women perceive content differently

If men and women are shown the same picture, their gaze may focus on different areas. For example:

Men’s attention is mainly on the chest area (37% more time than women), while women also notice the ring (27% more time than men).

This shows that men and women perceive the same content differently. Keep this in mind when planning ad campaigns, launching a service, or even designing a CTA.

Simplicity – the key to success

The placement of text, images, products, and even CTA buttons affects the final result. Fewer elements, colors, and text – and users will more easily see what you want them to see.

Gaze moves left to right

Statistics show that a user spends an average of 10–20 seconds on a page before leaving it. Considering that a person reads about 250 words per minute, this means the user reads only 40–80 words and then closes the page.

The average internet user also spends 69% of the time focusing on the left side of the web page. This means the most important elements, such as CTA buttons, should be placed there.

Conclusion

If you are eager to change some elements on your site according to this data, don’t rush. What worked well for one site may not work the same for another. Therefore, don’t forget about A/B testing – always run it before making major changes.