Eye Tracking

Eye tracking has long been of interest to me, as I believe it is an extremely fascinating way to discover what really draws a consumer in to a given marketing tactic. As an undergraduate, I was taught that consumers will typically view an advertisement in a "Z" or "Backwards S" pattern, starting at the top left and working their way down to the bottom right.

In recent years, however, studies have shown that consumers are actually viewing advertisements in a "F" pattern. Similar to the patterns listed above, the "F" pattern states that consumers first read the top portion of an advertisement first (from left to right.) The "F" pattern notes, however, that consumers then move to the second line and read from left to right, making the second bar of the F. They then make one vertical look at the page before moving on. The picture below demonstrates a "heat map" where you can see how long subjects' looked at a page and where they looked.

(Photo courtesy of KateToon.com)

The above is also a great resource into this topic, specifically related to online copywriting. It's a great quick read related to this subject.

So what does all of this mean for your brand? Essentially when trying to reach your consumers, studies are indicating that you need to place your product in the top left corner for the most accurate brand absorption. It has been reported that you will reach between 80-100% of participants by having your name featured in the top left of a marketing element, as opposed to only 10-15% in other areas (Eyetools.com).

Unfortunately I do not have the facts regarding the brand retention rate, but it is still certainly something to keep in mind when placing your brand name or logo anywhere. Top left is the way to go!

Works Cited:

Eyetools.com. Google Search's Golden Triangle [Blog Message]. Retrieved on October 24, 2010 from http://eyetools.com/research_google_eyetracking_heatmap.html