Have you ever run across a page online and wished that the type were larger, but, you continued to read anyway? According to a study produced on eye tracking by Eyetrack III and released by the Poynter Institute, the size of the font may be selected just for that reason.
Study Shows that Larger Type Encourages Scanning, Not Reading
As any online marketer knows, the more time prospects spend reading a landing page, the better chance they have of getting that person to take the action they want (ie, respond to their call to action statement).
Hence, you want prospects to pay attention - to read - your landing page. In the Eyetrack III study, the researchers found two things you can use to design landing pages that encourage visitors to read:
(i) The larger the type, the more likely viewers were to scan: This could be because it's easier to read larger type, hence it can be absorbed quicker and a reader could move on; and
(ii) The smaller the type, the more likely viewers were to focus - and read - more. Of course, this can be attributed to the fact that smaller type is more difficult to read. Hence, you have to slow down to absorb it.
How to Judiciously Use Font Size to Help with Landing Page Optimization
One simple way to do this is to use larger fonts for headlines to draw people to sections that may interest them, then use smaller type to explain a benefit or input a call-to-action statement.