Heat Maps are more of a snapshot that represents user activity on a page. It depicts the amount of action on a particular page at each point. When you create a webpage you need to have an end Goal in mind for the visitor. And if you are having a e-commerce site you might want the visitor to buy the product. Heat maps give you a fair idea if goal set is accomplished.
You see some horizontal color on the heat map, and they blend with other colors, this indicates gradual decline in the number of visitors. Sometimes the lines can be wider or narrow indicating the severity of visitors dropping of the page.
The heat in the Heat Maps:
• Hot Action 100-70% large amount of visitors are viewing a particular section of page
• Lukewarm action 65-35% Visitors are starting to drop off the page
• Cold action 30-0% No visitors sees this part of the page
By measuring two things we can judge how effective a page is:
Information Engagement: Are people reading what you have written till the end of the page? Heat maps help you know how far down the page they got.
Action Taken: Heat helps you to see if the visitor is completing your action and if they are facing any road blocks, stopping them from doing so.
There are basically 2 types of visual analytics:
Eye Tracking: Is quite expensive and not reliable because the test is done on a sample. Hence most of the businessmen resort for better alternatives.
Mouse Tracking: Movement of the mouse and the activities of all visitors are tracked for a period of time and it is graphically presented. It discloses the pattern how users navigate and read the page. When compared with Eye and Mouse tracking, Mouse tracking is more popular as it is more useful and less expensive.
Some of the most popular heat maps and how they help in identifying barriers to conversion:
1. Mouse movement Heat map – It tracks the movement of all the visitors and represent the data visually. Most of these tools also give the data of how many visitors remain in a particular page.
2. Scroll Map: Gives you a clear view till what point does the visitor scroll the page and where they abandon.
3. Click Map: Shows where does the visitor clicks on a page
4. Form Tester: Here the customer has the chance to take a trail test and then becomes a paid customer. The landing page can be the best, if the form inspires and seeks attention
5. Visitor Recording: It helps you see the unpleasantness of the user as they interact with your web page.
