Eye Tracking

 
Eye tracking is one of the newer tools that marketers can utilize to determine the effectiveness of an ad campaign or web page design. At its most basic, eye tracking is simply following what the subject is doing with their eyes during a specific interaction or task. Where on the computer screen are they looking? How long are they gazing at a particular area? Based on how long they look, marketers can draw an inference about whether something is working or not.

For example, if there is an important widget on a page but people are consistently not looking at it, repositioning may make it more effective. Recognizing that people are consistently not looking at it is one of the roles that eye tracking can play.

Why use eye tracking?

One of the core reasons to use eye tracking is that people in studies tend to provide answers they think are desired, often subconsciously. Subjects can say the content was clear and easy to understand, but if the eye tracking shows they reread it four times, it may need some refinement.

There are multiple options when it comes to getting eye tracking done.

Eye tracking has recently gained a lot of momentum and today you have a number of options if you’re looking to get eye tracking done. The first is to outsource it completely to a research company that will attempt to answer your question. You provide them with a set of tasks that you want your subjects to complete and they’ll provide you with a heatmap of where people focused their eyes. A few examples of such companies:

• answerlab.com
• keylimeinteractive.com
• eyetrackingtest.com

Eye Tracking Products

The other option is to purchase or lease products that would allow you to conduct eye tracking in-house. There are a number of products on the market that can help you with this. Often they usually come in a combination of software and hardware, where the eye tracking software works with special hardware to detect eye movement and pupil focus accurately. Here are some solutions for you to consider:

• iscaninc.com
• sr-research.com
• smivision.com/en/gaze-and-eye-tracking-systems/products
• seeingmachines.com/product/facelab
• innerscoperesearch.com
• asleyetracking.com
• eyetracking.com
• tobii.com

Some packages can cost thousands of dollars while others may only cost a few hundred. Most eye tracking systems will install on any computer running a supported version of Windows. Many can also be installed on a Mac.

The investment can be recouped quite quickly by identifying oversights in design or implementation. Because it evaluates a persons actual actions independent of their verbal input, it provides a more reliable assessment of how effective a page or campaign is. Anyone serious about their Internet marketing should consider implementing eye tracking.