16 Heatmaps That Reveal Exactly Where People Look

2012-05-21T20:21:00.000Z

They say the eyes tell all.

Now thanks to eye-tracking technology we can tell they're saying, and the results point to fascinating differences between men and women and useful insights into advertising and design.

We've picked out some of our favorite ones.

Men spend more time looking at the woman, while women read the rest of the ad.

Notice how the men are not looking at the shoes at all.

These Sunsilk ads show that just putting a pretty face on a copy isn't enough. It matters where she's looking.

This is called "banner blindness," and shows why publishers and advertisers hate banner ads. People barely even look at them.

On Google, the top five listings on the page get the majority of eyeballs. The red lines are the "fold" — the point at which you'd have to scroll down.

As you'd probably guess, more eyes are reading the pictures and headlines on this Ad Age page than anything else.

Notice how nobody's looking at Wolf Blitzer, but at rather the center of the frame.

Could we have a heat map post without Facebook? Photos catch the most eyes

Men focus on baseball players' torso more than women, who look only at the face

The best place to post a link in a tweet is actually towards the beginning.

Here's what people look at during a soccer match. They're focused on the player throwing in the ball and the area he's facing

Even though there's a large picture of a man's face on this billboard, more people were looking at the words on the left.

Women tend to focus on the face and the torso...

While men focus more on the junk than women...

What do people look at when they see the Vegas strip? The eye looks straight ahead and then veers back to the left.

In the six seconds they spend on a resume, recruiters focus on name, current title and company, current position start and end dates, previous title and company, previous position start and end dates, and education.

BONUS: This customer traffic heatmap shows how IKEA customers have to follow one-way paths through the store unless they know the exit routes

BONUS: This heatmap of flickr photos shows that the most popular places in Manhattan to take pictures are the 5th Ave. Apple Store, Rockefeller Center, Columbus Circle and Times Square.

BONUS: Yes... A Miami Heat heatmap

A heatmap is worth 1,000 words. So is a chart.

16 Heatmaps That Reveal Exactly Where People Look

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

16 Heatmaps That Reveal Exactly Where People Look

Men spend more time looking at the woman, while women read the rest of the ad.

Notice how the men are not looking at the shoes at all.

These Sunsilk ads show that just putting a pretty face on a copy isn't enough. It matters where she's looking.

This is called "banner blindness," and shows why publishers and advertisers hate banner ads. People barely even look at them.

On Google, the top five listings on the page get the majority of eyeballs. The red lines are the "fold" — the point at which you'd have to scroll down.

As you'd probably guess, more eyes are reading the pictures and headlines on this Ad Age page than anything else.

Notice how nobody's looking at Wolf Blitzer, but at rather the center of the frame.

Could we have a heat map post without Facebook? Photos catch the most eyes

Men focus on baseball players' torso more than women, who look only at the face

The best place to post a link in a tweet is actually towards the beginning.

Here's what people look at during a soccer match. They're focused on the player throwing in the ball and the area he's facing

Even though there's a large picture of a man's face on this billboard, more people were looking at the words on the left.

Women tend to focus on the face and the torso...

While men focus more on the junk than women...

What do people look at when they see the Vegas strip? The eye looks straight ahead and then veers back to the left.

In the six seconds they spend on a resume, recruiters focus on name, current title and company, current position start and end dates, previous title and company, previous position start and end dates, and education.

BONUS: This customer traffic heatmap shows how IKEA customers have to follow one-way paths through the store unless they know the exit routes

BONUS: This heatmap of flickr photos shows that the most popular places in Manhattan to take pictures are the 5th Ave. Apple Store, Rockefeller Center, Columbus Circle and Times Square.

BONUS: Yes... A Miami Heat heatmap

A heatmap is worth 1,000 words. So is a chart.

These Charts Show Why The Wall Street Protesters Are Upset >

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

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Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know