EyeTrack07 - Online and Offline Reader Behavior
Poynter EyeTrack07 study results - the gaze of 600 readers who viewed newspapers and texts on the monitor ( via ) was recorded . To everyone's surprise, it turned out that on-line readers read a large proportion of the selected texts. You can download PDF files - presentation and short version .
Conclusions (augmented translation from GroovyMarketing):
So what happens. On-line readers are more grateful - they will read almost the entire text if they want. You can attract them not only with the headline, they pay attention to navigation (most likely - to the overall design of the site), and to information teasers. Blog
Source
Conclusions (augmented translation from GroovyMarketing):
- Readers read a large portion of the text online — on average they read 77% of what they chose to read. Readers of large-format newspapers - on average 62%, readers of tabloid tabloids - 57%. Observed read texts of all formats almost completely, even more than expected. Two-thirds of online readers who select a particular article have read the full text.
- People read in 2 ways: sequentially or by scanning. About 75% of off-line readers read sequentially. Of online readers, half scans, half scans sequentially. But what type would online readers not belong to, they read about the same amount of text.
- Alternative forms of presentation of the text help people understand and remember the material they read. These can be questions and answers, chronological tables, short blocks, lists. Such non-standard elements concentrated on themselves more attention. Readers of large-format newspapers paid 30% more attention to alternative forms of presenting textual information.
- Large headlines and large photographs in print attracted more attention - they are looked at first of all. But online readers paid more attention to navigation panels and teasers.
- Photos of real people, documentary photos attracted more attention than staged or studio photos. Black and white photographs attract 20% less attention than color photographs. Photos of authors of articles in the “for passport” style were of little interest.
So what happens. On-line readers are more grateful - they will read almost the entire text if they want. You can attract them not only with the headline, they pay attention to navigation (most likely - to the overall design of the site), and to information teasers. Blog
Source