There is an interesting eye tracking story over on the Google Blog, covering their results from some usability studies they carried out.
Specifically: eye tracking to test the use of thumbnails in search results. Though the blog report is fairly brief, they did come to specific conclusion.
Our studies showed that the thumbnails did not strongly affect the order of scanning the results and seemed to make it easier for the participants to find the result they wanted.
There is a real time eye tracking video and some heat map images in the article too.
Go read the original and let us know what you think in the comments.
– Story from Official Google Blog.
1 response so far ↓
Katherine Thomas-Wilson // July 15, 2009 at 3:10 pm
More and more eyetracking work is being undertaken in our research facility in central Manchester, primarily by market research companies specialising in usability. Almost all of them are based in the SE or Scotland – why? These research companies use our market research studio in order to allow clients and the web agencies to observe real users up close, listening to feedback whilst they navigate sites, in real time. Eyetracking kit is hugely expensive , but there are companies who hire out the equipment and technical support on a day by day basis. The client companies tend to be the large NW manufacturers et al who want to be more involved in website development , they want joint ownership of the process but the inevitable side effect seems to be improved agency/client relationships. Not only do the agency/client observers benefit from the insight provided by the quantitative data of heat maps, but also the reasons articulated during the accompanying conversation, for preferring one design to another. Watching and listening to real people using real and proposed sites generates nuggets of insight that offer commercial advantages whether it be an eyetracking project, a one on one usability depth or group discussion relating to early ideas around web-site brand positioning. Does anyone else think that undertaking more usability research with real users is the next stage in the digital industry’s evolution? Other forms of media such as tv /pack design, spend a great deal of time and effort refining their format and message with real people – why not digital?
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