How To Use Heatmaps For SEO Strategy

How does a heatmap work?

You may have seen heatmaps used in weather reports, or on real estate sites. They are usually used to present data and highlight the hotspots of special attention. In website SEO terms, they show the value of the content, such as where viewers have clicked the most, in a color-coded form. Different types of heatmaps include scroll maps, click maps, move maps, plus desktop and mobile heatmaps.

Using Heatmaps for SEO

A heatmap works by gathering data from a website. It uses a warm-to-cool or dark-to-light color scale to display which content of the web page earns more attention. For instance, the area where a website visitor clicks the most is shown in a dark color, compared to a light color where the visitor gives little or no attention. But how can heatmaps take an SEO process to the next level? Read on to find out more.

1. Heatmap Helps You Learn More About User Intent

Visual analytics allow you to learn more about visitor habits. You can use heatmaps to determine which components of your web page get the most attention, which content your audience cares most about, and which sections they scroll over without stopping to look at. You can also learn which menu choices and filters get the most clicks. This information can later be used to inform your PPC campaigns, in addition to future pages and blog posts.

2. Use Heatmaps with Analytics

Popular tools like Google Analytics allow you to collect tons of quantitative information. You can control web page views, bounces, referral visitors, and what number of occasions somebody left a filled cart. Google Analytics heat map doesn’t provide a lot in the method of “why” shoppers take these actions. For instance, your website heatmap may reveal a lot of individuals clicking on a ‘next’ button, however, they may be leaving the page too soon. Through analysis, you may find that your most important call-to-action is hidden or beneath the fold. In this case, you can improve the site layout, transferring content or CTA points higher up the page, and take a look at whether or not this change has an influence on conversions.

3. Combine Heatmaps with On-Page Surveys

Heatmaps allow you to identify points of friction to suggest why visitors may not fill up in a survey or complete a step. Collecting suggestions from various sources allows you to paint a clearer image of your customers. Try using heatmaps to discover design points on particular pages, then use on-site surveys to ask visitors to share their suggestions about that web page.

4. Determine Optimal Content-Length

Word count doesn’t really matter if you are giving customers the solutions they need. You can use heatmaps to reveal the level of information your visitors need on any given matter. You can use a scroll map to identify the place customers are leaving on the web page. Is there any query that you answered up high and there’s no need for readers to continue scrolling on? Or, are readers still searching for information, then leaving after realizing you aren’t going to present the detail they have been hoping for? Begin understanding where visitors are dropping off, then have a look at what they are looking for.

5. Improve Your Internal Linking Strategy

Internal links are essential from Google’s perspective, as the anchor text content you employ to hyperlink on your web site gives context for what that focus on a web page is all about. Besides, inner linking allows you to connect between pages and set up a content material hierarchy on the most popular pages that are given the highest value. If you haven’t given inner hyperlinks a thought, make an effort to enhance the connections between pages to improve your rankings.

6. Build Your Site Around the Buying Process

If designed properly, your web site should guide customers to related content that aligns with their stage in the buyer journey. Ensure that your hyperlinks work collectively to nurture your guests and provide them with what they need, before making a purchase, signing up or subscribing.

To make sure that individuals are clicking on the “right” content material, click maps can be used to uncover the hyperlinks customers click on. Clicking hyperlinks will take your customers away from the web page they’re on at the moment, so you’ll need to discover whether or not the hyperlinks embedded in your content are related, and help the user journey.

7. Determine Confusing Elements Causing Friction

One of the most important benefits of heatmaps is finding details about which parts of a website a customer may find distracting, or takes away from the user experience. If you provide your visitors a better, more enjoyable journey on your website, they’re much more likely to come back.

8. Improve Your Outbound Linking Strategy

While some businesses fear that this can drive customers away, in reality, linking to credible sources shows readers and search engines that you care about offering helpful and relevant information, no matter where it comes from.

The hyperlinks you incorporate into your copy can play a significant function in how your viewers react to your material. Avoid linking to spammy websites and use a click map to discover which hyperlinks generate the most clicks. Use a scroll map to study your content material too. Let’s say you discover that viewers drop off after encountering an outbound hyperlink they mistook as spammy or irrelevant, you can then make changes to improve your website experience.

Heatmaps for SEO

In conclusion, a heatmap allows businesses a window into common user practices on a website and can help determine issues that are affecting SEO strategy. From there, you can find new alternatives to drive up visitors and conversions and improve the overall user experience. However, you shouldn’t solely rely on heatmaps to improve SEO, and it always falls under a wider, all-encompassing SEO strategy.

This is one of many useful tools that can help your business flourish, and our team of SEO specialists will help you map out an effective SEO plan for your website. To find out more and get a free quote, connect with us today.