{"id":108742,"date":"2024-06-14T07:52:25","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T14:52:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thegood.com\/?post_type=insights&p=108742"},"modified":"2024-06-17T07:19:22","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T14:19:22","slug":"hotjar","status":"publish","type":"insights","link":"https:\/\/thegood.com\/insights\/hotjar\/","title":{"rendered":"This Is The Best Heatmap Software For Researchers (Yes, It Downsamples, And That Is OK)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A researcher is only as good as their tools. If you want to make the best decisions, you need to arm yourself with the best information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analytics data, user interviews, and surveys are helpful in their own ways, but there is powerful insight in observing people use the site or app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This gives you a clear, comprehensive, and unbiased view of their experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you get this valuable view? With a tool like Hotjar<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hotjar is one of our favorite research tools. It’s a staple of our workflow and a key way we develop insights to optimize our clients\u2019 digital experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, new clients will ask us to use their preferred tool, but we usually resist. That’s how confident we are in Hotjar\u2019s value. Right now, it\u2019s the best heat mapping software on the market for professional researchers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’d like to take a moment to explain what makes Hotjar so great and how it helps us create better experiences for our clients. We\u2019ll also address a common criticism of Hotjar\u2019s platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Hotjar?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hotjar is an analytics tool that helps digital brands understand how users interact with their websites. It provides insights into user behavior through visual representations so you can identify areas for improvement and enhance the overall user experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"hotjar<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Unlike traditional analytics tools<\/a> that offer simple numerical data, Hotjar provides visual feedback through heatmaps, session recordings, surveys, user interviews, and feedback polls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These tools let you see exactly how users navigate your site, where they click, and how far they scroll. This information helps you make data-driven decisions to optimize your website, which ultimately leads to a better digital experience<\/a> for everyone (not to mention higher conversion rates and increased revenue for you).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are Heatmaps, Scroll Maps, and Click Maps?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before we dig into why Hotjar is the best heatmap software, let\u2019s get an understanding of the tool\u2019s primary value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you look at analytical data, it can seem like conversions just happen on their own. But in reality, there are dozens of little variables that affect how and when your visitors decide to take action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, a visitor might read some content, explore some images, or watch a video on the page before finally taking the next step. These \u201cfootprints\u201d can provide key insight to help you optimize the experience and drive more conversions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, you can\u2019t get this kind of data out-of-the-box in Google Analytics. (That isn\u2019t to say Google Analytics is a bad tool, but it doesn\u2019t provide everything you need.) And if you have customer tracking set up that tells the fuller story, all that can do is tell<\/em> you what\u2019s happening. It won\u2019t show you.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, you need specialty tools to show exactly what your visitors do on your site: heatmaps, scroll maps, click maps, and session recordings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heatmaps: Where People Pay Attention<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A Nielsen eye-tracking study<\/a> made pretty big waves when it proved what we all suspected: people don\u2019t read on the web. We scan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, we scan in a fairly predictable F-shaped pattern. We start on the far left-hand side, scan to the right, and then drop down and to the left to repeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result is that some spots on the page get the majority of our attention. Other spots are basically ignored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"heatmap<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That Nielsen study is an example of a heatmap. It shows us where users focus their attention. We can use it to learn whether design elements are effective and how to optimize the page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Areas that receive a lot of attention are shown in warmer colors, like red and orange, and areas that receive little attention get cooler colors, like green and blue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, consider the following two images. When the baby is facing forward, the face receives the majority of the reader\u2019s attention (indicated by the hot red spot). The title and text are far \u201ccooler,\u201d meaning they get less attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"heatmap<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But look what happens when the baby faces the content. The attention on the face gets transferred to the text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"heatmap<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The direction of a face is a simple visual cue, but we wouldn\u2019t see its effect without the help of the heatmap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, this is a simple example. It\u2019s not always so cut-and-dry. However, it shows us that heatmaps help us understand what our users are paying attention to. Armed with that information, we can create an experience that meets their needs and our goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n