Hello my nerdy friends,
Ready for a simple change you can implement in your ads or landing pages today to get more sales?
Lets go!
The research:
In one experiment, people viewed online banner ads while researchers tracked their eye movements.
The ads either showed a person looking directly at the product, looking away, or no person at all.
After viewing the ads, participants rated how much they liked the product and how likely they were to buy it (Palcu et al., 2017).
🧪What they found:
When the person looked toward the product, viewers were about 4 times more likely to look at that same product area.
They also reported a higher intention to buy compared to when the person looked away or when no face appeared.
Why?
For most of human history, following someone else’s eyes helped us find food, spot danger, and understand what others cared about.
Over time, that reaction became automatic. We do it before we even think.
When the model’s eyes focus on a product or button, our attention jumps there too because our brains assume they must be looking at something important.
Caveat
The researchers also tested animated faces and found that too much motion distracted people from the product.
Animation drew eyes to the moving face instead of the product.
The study also didn’t test eye contact. I’d need to look into other studies in the future for that info.
Takeaway
If you include a person in your ad or landing page, make sure their eyes are looking at what you want people to notice: the button, the headline, or the product.
See you next week,
Ksenia, the chief nerd
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