The longer the text, the less attention.
92 %
of respondents noticed the CTA
86 %
of respondents noticed the bold heading
62 %
of respondents noticed the short text
33 %
of respondents noticed the long paragraph
01 — WHAT THE DATA SHOWED
01
The “Read online” CTA was noticed by approximately 92% of respondents.
02
Attention gradually declined: the bold heading was noticed by approximately 86% of respondents, the short follow-up text by 62% and the long paragraph by 33%.
03
Approximately 75% of respondents noticed the bottom part of the page before even filling in the form.
02 — WHAT WE NEEDED TO FIND OUT
Which elements does a visitor notice, and where does attention start to drop?
The educational microsite combined expert content with a main call to action. The goal was to verify how much attention the individual layers of the page — CTA, headings, short texts and longer paragraphs — receive.
03 — HOW THE MEASUREMENT WORKED
Approximately 120 respondents went through several task scenarios. Eye tracking captured their visual attention, and AOI analysis calculated the share of respondents who fixated the predefined elements of the page.
[ DATA VISUALIZED ]
The share of respondents who noticed the element declined from the main CTA through the heading and short text down to the long paragraph.
05 — WHAT WAS DECIDED
The results supported clearly separating the main CTA, shortening long text blocks and working more consistently with the information hierarchy. The team gained concrete data for deciding which parts of the content to emphasise, shorten or rearrange.
[ THE TAKEAWAY ]
Information on the page doesn't yet mean information noticed.
Eye tracking shows whether the information hierarchy really guides attention to what the visitor is meant to see and use.
DISCUSS YOUR OWN STUDY →[ GLOSSARY — WHAT THE TERMS IN THIS STUDY MEAN ]
- Fixation
- A brief stop of the eye in a certain area. It shows visual attention, not a full read or comprehension.
- AOI (area of interest)
- A predefined part of the page, for example a CTA, a heading or a text block, for which we calculate metrics.
- Element reach
- The share of respondents who fixated the given area at least once during the scenario.
- Attention gradient
- The gradual decline in the share of respondents who noticed the individual layers of content.
[ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STUDY ]
What is an attention gradient?
The share of respondents who noticed the individual elements gradually declined: the bold heading approximately 86%, the short text 62% and the long paragraph 33%. The result describes this specific page and the tested scenarios.
How many respondents noticed the main CTA?
The “Read online” CTA was noticed by approximately 92% of the roughly 120 respondents. Of all the tracked elements it received the highest reach.
Does a fixation mean the person read the text?
No. A fixation shows that the gaze was directed to the given area, not a full read or comprehension. That's why we phrase the result as noticing an element and interpret it in the context of the task.
What do the results imply for content creation?
On the tested page, clear CTAs, a strong heading and short follow-up text helped focus attention. For another website the same principle needs to be verified in its own content and context.
Want to go through the study in more detail?
DETAILED REPORT WITH METHODOLOGY AND RECOMMENDATIONS — FREE PDF