Website Usability: Using Eye Tracking for Web Design

Looking to improve website usability? Are users abandoning your site at alarming rates? Planning a site redesign? Consider using eye tracking to improve site usability on your website. At Enquiro, one thing that we have been doing for quite a while has been to use eye tracking to see how users interact with not only the search engine results pages but with individual sites.

We have a history of performing cutting edge eye tracking studies. Our original research study on search interaction used eye tracking technology to quantify what user interactions with the Google search results page looked like. The results were the "Golden Triangle" image which has been discussed extensively.

Through Enquiro’s eye tracking solutions, you can learn more about how your users are interacting with your site. Why are they exiting the site when they do? Are they clicking on your calls to action? Are they ignoring critical components of your web pages? In order to provide a successful experience for your users, you must design your website for them. Using eye tracking as part of the web design process can save you a lot of time and effort down the road when you realize that you need to improve your site’s usability.

7 Reasons How Eye Tracking Can Help Improve Website Usability

Here are the seven “I’s” of how eye tracking can be used to help improve website usability.

1. Identify where the hotspots – based on eye fixations – are on your web pages . Where are the majority of users focusing their attention?
   
2. Identify and Determine sections of the web page that users are ignoring. You will be able to determine what sections of your pages users may be overlooking. As a result you can design your site layout to be more attractive to the user.
   
3. Identify Banner Blindness. Are users ignoring banners or more importantly other ads on your site pages? Eye tracking can provide the answers.
   
4. Identify Navigation Issues. You can use eye tracking to see exactly how the users are navigating your site. Why is your internal site search being ignored? Are the users clicking on text links or image links? Eye tracking can help you develop site-wide navigation strategies to create a richer experience for your site visitors.
   
5. Improve Site Stickiness. By using eye tracking, you can identify the areas of your web page and/or site that the users are actively engaging with. From here you can improve the site experience by designing the site to include similar elements throughout.
   
6. Improve Content. From an SEO and search marketing point of view, we all understand the importance of content on your site. Using eye tracking as part of your website design can allow you to identify types of content that your users are interested in. Present your content in a manner that users will appreciate. Maybe this means using bullet lists over paragraphs. Eye tracking can provide insight into the type of content that you display on your web pages.
   
7. Identify the need for a Site Redesign. Using eye tracking can help identify whether you need to redesign your site or whether you just need to make a few minor changes. This can save you thousands of dollars in redesign costs and allows you to focus efforts on areas of the site that require the most attention.

Eye tracking can be used as a powerful tool for website design. When designing a site, designers can often overlook the obvious. Eye tracking can help identify areas for improvement and be used to improve the usability of your website and provide a successful site experience for your site visitors.

If you would like to gain more information about using eye tracking to help out with a new design for your site, feel free to contact us and we'll discuss the eye tracking options that can work for you.