Web traffic analysis using individual page heat maps

Dec 18, 2007 17:39 GMT  ·  By

Web traffic analysis tools provide you with statistical reports in a graphic version or an analytical one. These traffic reports must be interpreted in order to decide the relative importance of various elements within your website. But interpreting the web server log analysis reports, you can obtain mainly a global image over the whole website traffic.

In order to optimize individual page architecture and ad placement for increasing the click through rates (and the revenues at the same time) the individual web page heat maps represent the most rapid solution to obtain the desired information regarding the interest of visitors in certain zones, links or other page elements.

Practically, a heat map will indicate the areas from a web page that captures the maximum visitor audience. Color codes are used to visually reflect the relative importance of various zones and elements in a given web page. Usually, heat maps are constructed in correlation with the number and distribution of visitor clicks in real time.

The heat maps will help you identify the possible problems that cause low click through rates and improve your website usability level. By analysing the heat map image, you will be able to decide how to reorganize the web page element positions in order to increase the number of clicks through ads. The website navigation system can also be improved by consulting webpage heat map images.

Heat map images can be constructed using free or paid online services or individual web applications that run on server side. For example, clickdensity website provides a heat map generation service that is very easy to use. If you prefer a free server side application, very easy to install and use, ClickHeat could be what you are looking for.

In conclusion, if you want to increase your revenues from web ads and respectively improve your web page design to become more user friendly for web site visitors, heat maps provide you with all the needed data automatically, in a short time and with minimal effort from your part.