Internet marketers are constantly struggling to find out what visitors to their site are consciously thinking about and focusing on, but what about the unconscious behavior of the visitors? According to Dr. Susan Weinschenk of Human Factors International, marketers should spend more time determining the unconscious side since most decision-making is done unconsciously.

As she explains, eye tracking is an area that looks into the unconscious behavior of users on websites and goes all the way back to the 1960′s. Research based upon eye tracking shows us that, in regards to a webpage, people’s eyes are influenced by what what they are told.

For example, let’s say a picture is displayed on a webpage and a question about the image is underneath it. On the other hand, let’s just say the image is there with no text or any direction. How do you think users would react to each of these situations?

Weinschenk, who is also known as “the brain lady,” brings up another point about eye tracking that relates to our central and peripheral vision. Interestingly enough, research shows that the peripheral vision is the most important factor in determining what it is you are looking at.

WebProNews also talked to Weinschenk about how the rise in social media affects the way users act both online and offline. She shares some powerful insights related to “Dunbar’s number” and the biological makeup of humans. Find out all the details in the above video.

Did you realize how much the brain impacts your marketing efforts?