Eye-tracking Study Shows How Users Scan Web Pages

apatrick writes "An article in UsabilityNews.com describes an experiment where Internet users' eyes were tracked while they searched for information on WWW pages from three well-known newspapers. The findings indicated that people learn very quickly where ads are usually placed on web pages, and then they no longer look there. The results also show that users look to the left hand side for navigation menus, and they scan from the middle of the page outward. Such results may be useful for developers wanting to make their pages more usable, or to attract the users' attention."

Comments

New, from EyeTracker Technologies!

[Anonymous Coward]

Are the visitors to your website stealing your valued website's content by reading it without looking at the ads? Do you think that pop-ups, whole-page redirects, and flash animations are not getting you the ROI that you need to survive in this cut-throat business? If user experience, consistency and ease of use do not matter to you, you might need our new AdEye system.

Just demand that users, before they are allowed access to your precious content, install an AdEye USB camera ($199 retail - Windows XP IE 6.0+WMAw/DRM only) and point it at themselves! Our patented NoFoolinMe technology will validate that it is not just a Dilbert doll made to look like a web 'surfer', and then proceed to put up your choice of ads right in their line of site!

If a so-called 'user' tries to look elsewhere to 'steal' useful information, the ad follows their gaze in Real Time, using our Patented Real Time Ad Aware Eye Tracking IE Plugin Technology (#11233451). If their eyes do spot any potentially useful information, you can rest assured that it wasn't because you didn't try!

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They're smart alright

[_iris]

The results simply confirm that users have caught on to the basic layout of most web sites, rather than giving insight into the basic instincts of users. Big whoop.

Re:How to disable flash in IE

[I Be Hatin']

I use this little tidbit to disable flash while I am surfing, only flipping it back on when I absolutely need to (like for watching the latest Strong Bad Email)

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{D27CDB6E-AE6D-11CF-96B8-44455354000 0}

Disable Flash:
"Compatibility Flags" = 0x400

Enable:
"Compatibility Flags" = 0x0

Mark my words you weenies: Linux will never be ready for the desktop until it's as intuitive as Windows.