Mit der Picasso-Strategie zu mehr Sichtbarkeit auf Amazon: So steigerst du die Click-Through-Rate

Basics of the Amazon Eye-Tracking Study

Eyetracking is not entirely new – the first studies for Google were conducted as early as 2006, which uncovered the so-called F-pattern: Users would still read the titles of the top results in full, but became increasingly likely to skim the text as they scrolled further down. Ten years later, a repeat of the study showed that consumers had learned to ignore ads, which are usually placed in the first two rows, and only began their usual reading behavior below – the “adjusted F-pattern”.

50% of the total fixation duration by all participants on the search results page was on main images. What your product communicates at first glance determines whether it gets a click or is simply scrolled past.

Valuezon, together with Prof. Wahrenberger from Hochschule Fresenius, conducted such an eye-tracking study specifically for Amazon to answer the following research questions:

• Which elements of an Amazon offer are perceived by consumers – both on the search results page (SERP) and on the product detail page (PDP)?
• How intensely and in what sequence are these elements perceived?
• Does it make a difference whether I am in a complex decision-making process (high involvement) or a simple one (low involvement)?
• Can I optimize my offer based on these insights so that it stands out from the crowd and achieves a higher CTR and CR?

To differentiate between high vs. low involvement in the Amazon context, we had the participants look at both portable Bluetooth speakers (more complex buying decision process) and water bottles (simpler buying decision process).

Fig. 1: The F-Pattern – Source: Jacob Nielsen (2006), Usability (2016)

Fig. 2: Sample heatmap of two different SERPs from the study

Insights into Information Behavior on SERPs

Regardless of the level of involvement, it was observed that the following elements on an Amazon search results page attracted particularly strong attention:

1. On the product, recognizable logos – regardless of whether the associated brand is well-known
2. Interesting special features of the product, which were clearly visible on the main image (e.g., innovative solutions or bonus items)
3. The well-known Bestseller label – regardless of whether the subcategory matches the search query
4. Products shown in the grid view to the right of a bestseller product – a fact that confirms the F-pattern on Amazon
5. A special customizing option for a product – probably because viewers briefly consider how this could be customized in their own case

It was also surprising to learn what did not attract much attention:

1. The titles of product offers – only about a third of the titles were even noticed, and only about one in five was actually read
2. Special effects on the main images, such as splashing water, which also do not comply with Amazon’s guidelines for offer images
3. The Sponsored label for Sponsored Product Ads
4. Sponsored Brands Headline ads, which consumers already recognize and ignore as advertising – the adjusted F-pattern

Fig. 3: Adapted F-pattern on Amazon – Sponsored Brands Headline ads are ignored

The last two points are particularly interesting for advertisers on Amazon. Sponsored Products formats, unlike on Google, are still perceived as organic recommendations by the platform and, in 90% of cases, are explicitly fixed and noticed in top-of-search placements. In contrast, Sponsored Brand Headline formats, although positioned even more prominently above, were only noticed by two-thirds of consumers. One third already ignored them and began absorbing information only below.

Learnings for Amazon Sellers

“I deliberately paint the noses crooked so that people are forced to look at them.” – Pablo Picasso

Amazon sellers, of course, want their offers to stand out from the crowd and to force consumers—like Picasso—to pay attention to their product. Achieving this is not easy. It already requires a certain amount of creativity during the development of a product. According to Amazon, only the product itself should be shown in the main image. Interestingly, 50% of the total fixation duration by all test subjects on SERPs was focused on these main images. This is also the reason why successful projects at Valuezon often start with so-called SMU workshops, where the ideal Amazon product for each category is developed.

Professional, creative, and skillful product photography can also help make a product stand out more, even within Amazon’s guidelines.

The remaining elements, such as bestseller labels or positioning within a SERP, can only be influenced to a limited extent.

It is also interesting how little Sponsored Product Ads are perceived as advertising. This underlines the importance of top-of-search placements, something we can confirm from our daily Amazon Advertising work—supported by our BI tool Valuezon Performance Cockpit. Knowing the exact profitability for every search term and thereby getting the most out of each individual PPC bid becomes a critical success factor on Amazon.

Further Results on PDP and Images

When looking at product detail pages and offer images, we also distinguished between situations of medium to high involvement and those with low involvement. Surprisingly, it was not the level of involvement that made a difference, but rather the sheer amount of information available. Thus, we observed interesting differences in the way consumers absorb information between optimized and content-rich Amazon listings and more simplistic representations of offers.

You can find out more in our second article on eye tracking on Amazon.

Conclusion

Even though the qualitative research approach of eye tracking is not suitable for deriving universally valid findings, the study did provide exciting food for thought, confirmed some of our hypotheses, and prompted us to further optimize our clients’ offers—with A/B tests and similar approaches—especially their main images, so that they stand out from the crowd and are clicked more often than others.

An old piece of wisdom is thus confirmed: Everything starts with an exceptionally good product!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)