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Eyetracking study draws some surprising results

Author: Poynter Institute/Stanford University (2000)

Abstract: This survey looks at the habits of 67 volunteer online news readers, measured by specialised eye tracking equipment. Although not statistically accurate, the results do draw some surprising conclusions.

This survey looks at how users read online news using eyetracking equipment. 67 volunteers from two US cities were used after replying to notices published in the online editions of the Chicago Sun-times and the St. Petersburg Times. The results are not statistically accurate, but do enable some general conclusions to be drawn, say Poynter.

Not many subjects had cancelled newspaper subscriptions, because many had given up subscribing to newspapers before taking up online reading. Most had been reading online news for 2 or more years, and online news had typically brought them back to newsreading.

Briefs or captions seem to get first eyeballs, then photos and graphics. This is a surprising result and at odds with the USA Today research.
45% of banner ads were looked at, for an average of one second - long enough to perceive the ad.

Graphics were looked at 22 per cent of the time, and 64 per cent of photos were looked at.

Typically online readers read shallow and widely, pursuing some topics in length. When looking at full articles, readers systematically went over more than 75 per cent of the length of the article.

Other results included: more women and 30 year olds (as opposed to those in their 20s and 60s) read local news, people used several sites typically, sport was generally read equally by males and females, and 80 per cent of all people read crime and disaster stories.