Zone-Based Map
back to glossary
What is a zone-based map?
Zone-based maps in website analytics are visual representations of user interactions, showing how users engage with specific areas (zones) of a webpage. These maps combine data from clicks, scrolls, and mouse movements (on desktop) or taps and scrolls (on mobile) into a single, color-coded grid overlay, allowing for easy identification of popular and problematic areas.
How do zone-based maps work?
- Data Collection: User interactions like clicks, mouse movements (on desktop), taps (on mobile), and scroll depth are recorded for each zone.
- Data Aggregation: The collected data is aggregated to calculate metrics for each zone, such as click-through rates, exposure rates, and hesitation times.
- Color Coding: A color scale, typically from light to dark red, is used to represent the intensity of user engagement within each zone. Higher engagement is usually indicated by darker shades of red.
- Visualization: The color-coded zones are then displayed on a visual representation of the webpage or app, allowing users to quickly identify areas of high and low engagement.
What are benefits of zone-based maps?
- Improved User Experience: Identify areas of high and low engagement, enabling website owners to optimize layouts, content, and calls to action.
- Increased Conversion Rates: By understanding user behavior, you can strategically position elements that drive conversions and reduce friction.
- Data-Driven Decision Making: Zone-based heatmaps provide a visual and intuitive way to analyze user behavior, facilitating data-driven decisions about website design and content.
- Efficiency: Zone-based maps condense various data points into a single visual, making it easier and faster to analyze user behavior compared to analyzing individual heatmap types (e.g., click, scroll).
What are examples of metrics tracked in zone-based heatmaps?
- Click rate: The percentage of users who click within a specific zone.
- Exposure rate: The percentage of users who see a specific zone.
- Hesitation time: The amount of time users spend within a zone before moving on.
- Revenue: In some cases, zone-based heatmaps can be linked to revenue data to show which zones are most valuable in terms of driving sales.
