I wrote about Stompernet Scrutinizer a few weeks ago, on Christmas day, in fact, in StomperScrutinizer looks very interesting, and Web Analytics Lessons - Building Trust. Also, today I read an very detailed article about Stomper Stompernet SMARTS Launch Analysis… where I was reminded that Stompernet Scrutinizer is now available:
"…This is actually a very clever and useful tool, though I wish it was possible to use it within my normal browser somehow using DHTML and possibly Greesemonkey. It does however demonstrate that the technical guys at Stompernet are very up on the latest technology, being one of the few application I know of that was created using Adobe's new "Air" web development platform.
What it allows you to do is a little like eye-tracking, in that it demonstrates the field of view that the human eye actually sees when looking at a website. Combined with the excellent videos explaining how this works, I can see some significant improvements I can make to my own blogs.
I certainly haven't taken as much care about this on this blog, and it is something I plan to rectify.
I viewed the entire 30 minute video and learned a lot - I felt the video I watched was giving much of the information of what you could do with StomperScrutinizer - but I didn't have the product to look at. Now I do.
And take a look a this:
The top page is Monster.com's current home page as visitor might see it using the shallow depth of field that our eyes built for. The second image is the Monster.com home page, as it is (again, it rotates images). The third image is one of the other images on the homepage that might, if I understand Stompernet Scrutinizer and what it does, it would suggest the image of the woman is more effective because it's closer to the text and it's a woman - but we'd have to test this using Web Analytics.
Using StomperNet Scrutinizer one might suppose that the creative here, the arresting man with dreadlocks, will be seen first (because it's a face, and people are drawn to faces first - correct? Yes - it's known that people are built to look at faces first).
It's also true that there's really no immediate call to action where that face is - the text on the left, which is probably going to be seen second, after the face, is blurred out.
What you can also see is the advertising in the second image, in the lower right would not be seen well, and if one cared about getting higher click-through rates, the arrangement of the images and textual actions (along with pictures in Flash) might a more deliberate approach beyond what is usually done (images stregthened to lead eyes among a predefined path with actions that are accessible within the field of definition along that path - so you never let the eye get calls to action out of focus).
It would be interesting if Click-through rates were analyzed based on the images and their closeness to the text (as the image here does rotate, and some of the photos are closer to where the text is located - perhaps close enough even to be in focus).
One can even go so far as thinking that using composition, similar to the Golden Mean, might well be the answer, along with the right copy and imagery, to stimulating higher engagement and higher click-through rates on any web page, especially a page with images.
I think StomperNet Scrutinizer might be interesting to use with Art - which is an application that hasn't really been promoted by Stompernet. Interesting….. maybe I need to watch their 30 minute online video again and see if I really understand all the points within.
By the way, I now work for Monster.com - so I look at whatever I can learn that can help, perhaps, improving analysis - by looking at information in a different way and using Web Analytics to find out if theories and ideas that we have are true or not.
At least, that's what I do with the Web Analytics tools and methodology - it's always best to have an idea to begin with - otherwise your likely producing reporting and not analysis.
I wonder if the ideas in Stompernet Scrutinizer can be used in Virtual Worlds like Second Life?
