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Eye tracking research studies are available from relatively few web technology companies. EyeTracking Inc are one such US based company, their eye tracking service enables customers to determine where an audience are most frequently looking, and within the context of a website - on screen as they browse page content. Data is obtained by fitting willing volunteers with head gear which, in my opinion, resembles some kind of medieval torture device, or the kid at school who got bullied for having a full head brace! In reality it has to be a bit cumbersome because it contains a series of cameras which track the movements of a user’s eyes as they read web pages. The tracking provides a ‘heat map’ of hot and cold areas of a web page with hot (red) being most read. For companies employing eye tracking researchers the resulting data is massively helpful in planning site layout.

One of the best sources for research findings is Jakob Nielsen’s usability alertbox service. His April 2006 eye tracking survey examined the reading behaviour of 232 people across a variety of differing web content, from standard informational pages to search engine results. Typically the resulting heat maps resemble something known as ‘the golden triangle’ – for Google clearly showing why a top five listing within search results is so important to webmasters. For pages containing informational content the heat map is more of an ‘F’ shape - created as users make a quick left to right scan across the top of a page, followed by a second lower and shorter left to right scan to determine if the content meets their needs.

The implication of these heat map studies within the context of online advertising has already been considered by the likes of Google. The primary and secondary pay per click advertising positions appear across the top left of the results page, with positions three onwards relegated to the right hand side. This additional prominence within the golden triangle produces many more clicks for advertisers (not always a good thing though for RoI) and extra ad revenue for Google.

So why is it that whilst Google has already considered eye tracking findings, and made efforts to improve response rates, most major publishers have not made any changes to the positioning of banner adverts on their websites? The standard leaderboard (728×90) advert across the top of a page is probably the most ideal position – but only if it is near to the first two paragraphs of content scanned by the audience, place the advert too near the top of the design and it will appear above the ‘F’. Skyscrapers (160×600) are almost always placed on the right hand side – often much further down the page (requiring scrolling), this does nothing for click rates or brand awareness – eye tracking data shows this to be a cold area.

As indicated in Google’s own heat map guide (left) it would seem logical to consider placing adverts much nearer the top left of the ‘F’, also potentially an advertising position between paragraphs one and two. 300×250 MPU adverts are commonly placed within content – often within the ‘F’ and this dramatically increases click rates on such units. Skyscrapers on the right hand side of a web page are destined to fail.

Advertisers may well be interested in brand awareness, but a more prominent position will help awareness AND click through rates (CTR). Publishers who want to keep advertisers interested have a duty to make campaigns perform well, this can clearly be difficult within the context of site usability - site visitors may not welcome adverts that invade the golden triangle. A balance has to be found between advertiser and visitor demands, one thing is clear to me however, without the ad revenue there may not be a website for visitors to use anyway.

Visit Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox for more information on heat maps.
Also check out ‘Talking Head Video is Boring Online‘ - very interesting.
Or people look further right on Yahoo and MSN than Google.

Technorati Tags: eye tracking, heat maps, banner advertising, ad placement, jakob nielsen

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