Banner Blindness

An update to my previous post on Google Ads, here is an interesting article from Nielsen Norman Group.

The most prominent result from the new eyetracking studies is not actually new. We simply confirmed for the umpteenth time that banner blindness is real. Users almost never look at anything that looks like an advertisement, whether or not it's actually an ad.

The trouble with eye tracking is that it only tracks where your direct line of vision is. Human eyes are equipped with peripheral vision as well and that is where the trouble lies. Although the user is focused on reading what is important, he/she is completely aware of their surroundings. No wonder you would see banner ads that are "gif-fy" with saturated colors or text on them.