UX design pro at PayPal says eye tracking can improve site design
Eye tracking web usability is a topic we cover here often because it is one of the fastest growing applications of eye tracking technology at the moment. In fact, in a recent Eye Tracking Update poll, we asked you what you are using your eye tracker for, and the majority voted for User Experience (UX) Research followed closely by Marketing Research. You can see the current stats at the bottom of this post and vote if you haven’t already.
Many mega corporations, including Google, Microsoft, and apparently Paypal too, are using eye tracking to improve the usability of their online user interfaces. At the Internet Retailer Web Design and Usability Conference in February, PayPal’s global manager for customer experience and design, Jim Hudson, spoke about the value of eye tracking for uncovering inaccurate assumptions about design usability.
Hudson cited a case in which a web designer assumed he had placed critical information in a prominent location on the page, but eye tracking results revealed that the information was completely overlooked by users. He also spoke about how eye tracking usability research revealed how certain elements on a page can be strategically used to direct visual attention to specific location. For example, placing an image of a person’s face with their eyes directed toward the spot you want noticed will direct users’ attention to that location.
The cost of eye tracking was also addressed during the session. Due to the high cost of eye tracking, Hudson recommended contracting with a vendor unless you plan on conducting extensive eye tracking research. We’ve seen many market research and usability companies adding eye tracking to their service offerings in the last year, making eye tracking more widely accessible and affordable than ever before.
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