SEO Glossary: Heatmap

What is a heat map?

Looking at a heat map immediately reminds you of a thermal imaging camera. Colored fields in a yellow-red hue represent a visualization of data. Such data is collected by software, elaborated and then visually displayed.

 

The goal is to use a heat map to display user behavior on a website. Where does a user spend a lot of time? Which areas seem particularly attractive and which seem less interesting? The heat map provides information about this.

 

Which points and places of a website receive particularly much attention and which less, different colors and points announce. These are sometimes more and sometimes less accumulated. Software measures and records where website visitors move the computer mouse most often and how the clicks turn out.

 

Here we also talk about so-called heat mapping. This can be used, for example, to determine how useful the design of a website is and how well a navigation menu is accepted. Once the initial results are available, optimizations can be made if necessary.

 

 

How is a heat map constructed?

As with a thermal imaging camera, the different colors of a heat map are assigned like temperatures.

 

Various shades are used for this purpose. The classics are:

 

• Red: Stands for all hot
• Orange: Stands for medium hot
• Yellow: Stands for warm
• Green: Stands for cool
• Blue: Stands for cold

In addition, individual transitions can be seen between the different colors. They represent the gradations.

 

Example:

 

If individual areas on a website are red and orange, users with the computer mouse linger here particularly often. Green or blue regions, on the other hand, are less interesting. This makes it possible to recognize patterns of movement.

Where are heat maps used in online marketing?

Heatmaps are used in addition to the classic EYE-TRACKING for software products also in online marketing use. This makes it possible to analyze user behavior and the structure of websites. If results are available, corresponding improvements can be made. These are then part of the OnPage SEO.

 

Which areas of a website catch the eye directly and which rather less? Here, for example, there is the possibility of populating interesting areas with relevant content. Among other things, this can lead to an increase in the CTR (click-through rate) increases.

 

Heat maps are also extremely useful in terms of usability. In addition, web designers benefit from heat maps to optimize the design of layouts and make changes if necessary.