# Heatmap

Category: [On-Page & Content](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/on-page-content/) › [Internal linking, structure & UX](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/on-page-content/internal-linking-structure-ux/) · Also known as: heat map, click map, scroll map

**Heatmap** (or heat map) is a visualization that uses color to show values: warm colors mark high values, cool colors low ones (Coursera). In web analytics, a heatmap lays that color scale over a page to show where visitors click, move the mouse or scroll. The same chart type also appears in other fields, such as finance and statistics.

## What types of website heatmaps exist?

- **Click maps** show where visitors click or tap.
- **Move maps** track the cursor, as an indication of attention.
- **Scroll maps** show how far down the page visitors get.
- **Rage click maps** mark repeated clicks on the same spot (Contentsquare).

Desktop and mobile behavior differ, so the data should be split by device (Contentsquare).

## What are heatmaps used for?

They help to see whether visitors notice a button, ignore a section or stop scrolling before an important element. The results feed design and content decisions, for example moving a call to action up, and often serve as input for A/B tests. For SEO, they are a diagnostic tool for the user experience of landing pages. They do not measure rankings.

## Limits

A heatmap shows what visitors do, and does not explain why. Seobility notes the same: a trend appears, but the reason needs interpretation. Pages with little traffic produce unreliable maps, and a map should be re-checked after a change.

## Example

A scroll map of a product page shows deep red at the top and a sharp drop to blue around the middle. The shipping information sits below that point. The team moves it up and compares the next map.

## Privacy

Recording tools collect visitor interactions. In the EU, Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive covers consent for storing information on a user's device or accessing it there. Article 6 GDPR lists the legal bases for processing personal data.

This is not legal advice.

## Related terms

- [SEO A/B testing](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/seo-a-b-testing/index.md)
- [Conversion rate](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/conversion-rate/index.md)
- [User experience (UX)](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/user-experience/index.md)
- [Bounce rate](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/bounce-rate/index.md)
- [Clickstream data](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/clickstream-data/index.md)
- [Conversion rate optimization](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/conversion-rate-optimization/index.md)

## Sources

- [What Is a Heat Map? – Coursera](https://www.coursera.org/articles/what-is-a-heat-map)
- [Heatmap – Seobility Wiki](https://www.seobility.net/en/wiki/Heatmap)
- [Heatmaps guide – Contentsquare](https://contentsquare.com/guides/heatmaps/)
- [Directive 2002/58/EC (ePrivacy Directive), Article 5(3), consolidated version of 19.12.2009 – EUR-Lex](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02002L0058-20091219)
- [Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), Article 6 – EUR-Lex](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj/eng)

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Last updated: October 7, 2026
URL: https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/heatmap/