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How to use mouse tracking move maps to improve UX and conversions

Tracking where users move and rest their mouse cursors captures an image of what attracts users’ attention (or doesn’t) on any website page or product interface. This visual representation is called a move map.

Move maps help you understand user behavior so you can deliver the experience people want when they visit your website or use your product.

Summary

This guide takes you through what move maps are, why they’re useful, and how to analyze mouse movement data to make customer-centric optimizations that improve your user experience (UX) and conversions. We cover 

  1. What is a move map?

  2. 4 ways to use move maps to increase website UX and conversions

  3. Which pages should you use mouse tracking on?

  4. Move maps vs. click maps vs. scroll maps

  5. How to set up a move map on your website

What is a move map?

A move map—also known as a mouse movement heatmap, mouse tracking heatmap, or attention map—tracks the overall movement and placement of a user's computer mouse cursor. 

Mouse movement heatmaps use color to show how much attention users pay to different page elements: the longer a mouse cursor remains at a certain point, the redder it becomes.

# A Hotjar mouse tracking move map showing popular mouse cursor positions on an example pricing page
A Hotjar mouse tracking move map showing popular mouse cursor positions on an example pricing page

📝 Note: some move maps (including Hotjar) also collect finger activity on mobile devices, but this is generally less useful as most mobile users only touch the screen to click or scroll. 

Why use a move map to track mouse movement

Move maps show you which parts of a page attract the most attention. Since they overlay mouse behavior for multiple users at once, move maps are quantitative representations of page elements that are actively read or seen.

# A Hotjar mouse tracking move map on UI-Patterns.com shows the sidebar getting ignored
A Hotjar mouse tracking move map on UI-Patterns.com shows the sidebar getting ignored

Research shows a correlation between mouse and eye movement. This means move maps are also a decent proxy for understanding where people look when browsing your site or using your product

Compared to eye tracking in a lab, mouse movement heatmaps:

  • Are cheaper and easier to generate

  • Capture more users at scale

  • Measure real-world behavior

Set up a move map for free and start learning what’s happening on your website or product in an easy, visual way.

4 ways to use move maps to improve website UX and conversions

Use the examples below to get ideas on how to make the most of mouse-tracking software in your next UX design, usability testing, or conversion rate optimization project:

1. Find where you’re capturing user attention

Move maps show you which elements catch your customer’s eye (and cursor) on any page—just look for the red pixels or hotspots.

Once you know what’s getting seen by page visitors, you can make optimization recommendations and get ideas for what to investigate next.

#A Hotjar mouse movements map on a University of Baltimore library site shows the search box getting all the attention
A Hotjar mouse movements map on a University of Baltimore library site shows the search box getting all the attention

For example, the University of Baltimore used Hotjar Heatmaps to add a move map to their library homepage. The heatmap showed most homepage visitors focusing their cursor movements on the tabbed search box, with almost no interaction with other page elements, like the ‘Ask a Librarian’ button.

If this was your site or product, you could: 

2. Confirm whether unclickable elements are being seen

Most text and images don’t require visitors to click, so move maps are the only way you can know at scale if they’re being read and seen.

#Part of a mouse tracking move map on a previous iteration of the Hotjar guide to heatmaps
Part of a mouse tracking move map on a previous iteration of the Hotjar guide to heatmaps

For example, we generated the above move map on an earlier version of our heatmap guide. It showed many visitors hovering their cursor over an image that compared scroll maps to click maps. This insight compelled us to keep the image when we updated the page.

3. See which elements get ignored

Since move maps measure continuous mouse placement, which can correlate with eye movement, they are better than other analytics tools at showing which elements users ignore.

# Mouse tracking software on Ukrainian fashion retailer Intertop shows visitors ignoring product listings
Mouse tracking software on Ukrainian fashion retailer Intertop shows visitors ignoring product listings

For example, UX/UI agency Turum-Burum used Hotjar to create a move map on the fashion store Intertop’s product category pages. Mouse-tracking data showed that search filters got more attention than product listings, which suggested users were unable to find the results they needed. 

The team made some changes and added more product filters, which contributed to an increase in product clicks and an extra 13.3% average revenue per user (ARPU).

You can speculate about why something is working. But when you have Hotjar, and you see where they [users] move their mouse and what they click—it's a huge difference to make changes based on that.

George Palaigeorgiou
Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at LearnWorlds

4. Segment your move maps to generate targeted insights

Different user segments behave differently on your website or product, and some are more important to your business than others. Segmenting your mouse-tracking move maps helps you focus on your most valuable cohorts.

If you’re using Hotjar, you can filter heatmaps retroactively: click ‘Add filter’ to view the options.

#Hotjar’s heatmap filters in the platform dashboard
Hotjar’s heatmap filters in the platform dashboard

Other ways you could use this feature include

  • Filtering by exit page to view what users paid attention to before bouncing

  • Filtering by event, like clicking a ‘Sign up’ button, to see what users paid attention to before converting

  • Filtering by referrer or identifier (like UTM parameters) to isolate and investigate paid traffic behavior

Which pages should you use mouse tracking on?

You can track user mouse movements on any website or product page that gets traffic, but move maps are most useful on business-critical pages, and anywhere you want to check interaction with non-clickable elements. 🐭 

For example

  • Ecommerce product pages: use mouse tracking tools to see if shoppers spend time reading product descriptions and looking at product images

  • Blog posts: use move maps to see which paragraphs and images attract readers’ attention the most

  • Pages with high drop-off rates: use funnel analysis and tools like Google Analytics to identify conversion leaks, and then move maps to see which areas get user attention

  • Business-critical CTAs: if calls-to-action (CTAs) aren’t getting clicked, use a move map to troubleshoot the issue

Move maps vs. click maps vs. scroll maps

Move maps aren’t the only type of heatmap you can use: click maps track where users click or tap, and scroll maps track how far users scroll down a page. Unlike these alternatives, move maps measure user behavior continuously, even in between page actions, revealing insights other heatmaps might miss. 

For example, a scroll map could show a high percentage of users scrolling to the bottom of a page—but a move map would reveal they completely ignore the sidebar. Similarly, a click map may show no clicks on a product description, but a move map would reveal that users who see it go on to convert.

Each type of heatmap helps you investigate a slightly different aspect of your website and product performance

No type of heatmap is better or worse—use them together to get clearer insights:

Move maps vs. session recordings

A session recording (aka session replay) recreates an individual user’s browsing session across multiple pages: you’ll see mouse movements, but only for a single user at a time.  

Move maps, however, aggregate mouse movement for multiple users on a single page. You can use them to look for overall trends and get a broad idea of how different elements attract attention. 

💡 Pro tip: combine qualitative and quantitative datasets to draw stronger conclusions. Use move maps to spot the main trend, like an element being ignored, then look at session replays for a qualitative understanding of what individual users do instead.

User mouse movements tracked using Hotjar Recordings

How to set up a move map on your website

To get started, sign up for a free Hotjar account and add our tracking code to your website. Turn session capture on, and Hotjar will automatically start creating move maps across your site. 

# How to view a mouse tracking move map in Hotjar Heatmaps
How to view a mouse tracking move map in Hotjar Heatmaps

Once you’ve received some website traffic, click the heatmap icon on the left, enter a URL, and click ‘View heatmap.’ Select a timeframe, e.g. the last 30 days, and click the move map icon to generate your mouse tracking map. It’s that easy!

Heatmaps are continuously captured on all pages, so you can toggle between click, move, scroll, and rage click maps without having to change any settings. Engagement Zone maps are also just a click away.

#Toggle between move maps and other heatmap types in Hotjar
Toggle between move maps and other heatmap types in Hotjar

Create a free move map and increase conversions today

Move maps give you a big-picture overview of what people pay attention to (and ignore) on your web and product pages.

On their own, they’re great visual assets to help explain user behavior to your team and stakeholders. But they become much more valuable when combined with other insights from your analytics stack: 

  • Funnels to tell you where you’re leaking conversions 

  • Session recordings to show you how people browse across your entire site

  • Surveys to get feedback in your customers’ own words 

And guess what? You can do all of the above with Hotjar. 😉

Set up a move map today

Discover how users experience your most important web and product pages so you can improve UX and increase conversions.

FAQs about move maps