• F-Shaped Pattern For Reading Web Content – the most well known article that laid out the generally proved F pattern of attention on a webpage. The pattern suggests that  headline and starting paragraph are THE most important elements on your page.
• Eye gaze Patterns while Searching vs. Browsing a Web site – confirms the F style eye gazing pattern applied both to browsing and searching modes.
• An Eye Tracking Study of How Font Size, Font Type, and Pictures Influence Online Reading [PDF] – A research paper by IBM and Google. Font size and font-type do not really make much difference in browsing style.
• Effects of Hyperlink Density on News Web Page Reading: An Eyetracking Study – A research which concluded:
  • increased number of links on the page may lead to increase in number of pages viewed on the site but would not necessarily affect conversion rate.
  • If there are more links on the page, people may not see links below the fold at all.
• The Determinants of Web Page Viewing Behavior: An Eye-Tracking Study [PDF] –
  • More complex your page is, more the possibility that the visitor will take an unexpected eye gazing path on your page (which may reduce the chances of missing your call to action).
  • The first page the visitor lands on provides a lot of context to his total browsing experience on the site. What he may miss on the first page, may be not be noticeable during his total further interaction on the website.
• Could I have the Menu Please? An Eye Tracking Study of Design Conventions [PDF] –
  • This study indicates that the users rapidly adapt to unconventional user interface, however that “unconventional”-ness should be maintained across the website
  • Participants take 50% longer to complete the search task on the complex site as compared to a simple site

Related posts:

1. From the bleeding edge: 10 must-read scientific research papers on conversion rate optimization
2. Hello world, welcome your new buddy for Conversion Rate Optimization!
3. Three effective tips to get started with conversion rate optimization
4. Why your bounce rate is high and how to fix it – top 6 reasons why visitors immediately exit your website
5. Stop measuring number of pageviews on your website! Measure the right metric: Visitor Lifetime Value

Posted in Conversion Optimization on November 9th, 2009 | No Comments »

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