Eye-Tracking Reveals What Users See On Brand Pages

Digital Web
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New eye tracking technology gives advertisers a valuable insight into what users actually look at and see on a brand page on social media.

A study, which used an eye-tracking application, gathered data from the webcams of 30 participants and recorded the way their eyes moved across the screen, when visiting profile pages on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google +, Twitter, YouTube, Klout, Digg, StumbleUpon and Pinterest.

Although the study is only a small-scale one, it can offer marketers material to think about. First of all, the profile picture attracts serious attention. In fact, it is the most looked-at site feature on Klout, Facebook and StumbleUpon. However, it does not prove as popular on LinkedIn, where it is the job title that catches the eye.

Another feature that many people look at is the list of friends. On all social network sites, the names of people listed on the profile page attract attention but mostly on Facebook, Google+ and Klout.

Most advertisers are probably aware of the fact that the content that appears at the top is the one that most users read. Naturally, the lower a piece of content appears on the screen, the fewer people see it. However, what might be new to brands is that this statement is especially true for Facebook, Pinterest and Digg. In comparison, the difference was not as marked on Twitter and YouTube.