How to Use Heatmap to Understand User Behavior in GemX

Understanding how visitors interact with your page is the key to improving conversions. 

GemX Heatmap helps you visualize real user behavior directly on your page, so you can quickly identify what works, what doesn’t, and where to optimize.

Important Note:

Before you start, please ensure that the GemX: CRO & A/B Testing app is installed on your Shopify.

Otherwise, please refer to this article to install GemX first and start your 14-Day Free Trial.

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What is GemX Heatmap

GemX Heatmap is a visual analytics feature that shows how visitors interact with your page through clicks, scrolling behavior, and revenue attribution. Instead of reading raw data, you can see user activity directly overlaid on your page as a color-coded map.

It helps you answer critical questions such as:

• Where do users click the most?

• How far do they scroll?

• Which elements actually drive revenue?

By combining interaction data with business metrics, Heatmap allows you to move beyond surface-level analytics and understand how user behavior impacts conversions.

In GemX, Heatmap is not a standalone feature. It works as part of your CRO workflow, which helps you:

• Identify friction and missed opportunities

• Understand how users engage with different page elements

• Generate data-backed ideas for A/B testing and optimization

Key takeaway: GemX Heatmap helps you see your page as your visitors do, so you can make smarter decisions that improve performance.

See What Your Visitors Actually Do

Visualize clicks, scroll behavior, and user interactions with GemX Heatmap and optimize your store with confidence.

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Overview of Heatmap Features

GemX Heatmap includes four core features that work together to help you analyze user behavior from different angles. Each feature focuses on a specific layer of insight, allowing you to move from observation to data-backed decisions.

Click Map

Click Map shows where users click on your page and how those interactions contribute to engagement and revenue.

Example of a Click map in GemX Heatmap

It helps you:

• Identify high-attention elements

• Detect misleading or non-clickable areas

• Understand which elements actually drive conversions

Use Click Map when you want to understand what users try to interact with.

Learn more: Learn how to analyze click behavior with Click Map

Scroll Map

The Scroll Map shows how far users scroll and how they engage with different sections of your page.

Example of a Scroll map in GemX Heatmap

With Heatmap Scroll Map, you can:

• Identify drop-off points

• Evaluate whether key content is visible

• Understand which sections retain attention or drive revenue

Use Scroll Map when you want to understand what users actually see.

Learn more: Learn how to analyze scroll behavior with Scroll Map

Heatmap Filters

Filters allow you to segment heatmap data and analyze specific groups of users instead of relying on aggregated data.

Apply fitlers to segment your heatmap data

It helps you:

• Compare behavior across devices (desktop, mobile, tablet)

• Analyze different visitor types or traffic sources

• Focus on high-value or converted users

Use Filters when you want to understand why behavior differs across segments.

Learn more: Learn how to segment heatmap data with Filters

Heatmap Compare Mode

Compare Mode lets you view two heatmaps side by side to evaluate differences in user behavior and performance.

Compare mode in GemX Heatmap

It helps you:

• Compare A/B test variants

• Analyze before-and-after changes

• Identify performance gaps between designs

Use Compare Mode when you want to confirm whether a change actually improves results.

Learn more: Learn how to validate insights with Compare Mode

How to Use GemX Heatmap

GemX Heatmap is most effective when you use its features together as part of a structured analysis process.

Let’s start with a clear question, such as:

• Why is my conversion rate low?

• Why are users not clicking my CTA?

• Why do visitors drop off before reaching key content?

Then, you can use the following workflow to analyze customer behavior and find the data-based answer instead of guessing.

Step 1: Access the Heatmap feature

You can access Heatmap in two ways, depending on your analysis goal: from Page Analytics or from the Experiments dashboard.

1. Access from the Page Analytics

Best for: Analyze a specific page

How to access:

• Go to Analytics tab and click on the page name to locate the Page Detail screen.

• From here, you can hover over the first block in Journey analysis section or click View heatmap in the Heatmap section.

Click View heatmap to trigger the heatmap of this page.

2. Access from Experiment Analytics

Best for: Analyze A/B testing variants

How to access:

• Go to Experiment tab and click on the experiment you want to analyze to enter its analytics screen.

• From there, hover over the first block in Journey analysis section and click View heatmap.

Click View heatmap to trigger the heatmap from your experiment

Important Note: When you open Heatmap, relevant filters are automatically applied based on your current context, so you can start analyzing immediately.

Step 2: Use Click Map to analyze interaction

Check where visitors click on your page to identify interaction issues

• Are key elements receiving attention?

• Are users clicking on non-clickable areas?

• Are important buttons being ignored?

Step 3: Use Scroll Map to analyze visibility

Next, evaluate how far users scroll and which sections they actually see to verify the visibility issues:

• Are users reaching your key sections?

• Is your CTA placed below the average fold?

• Where do visitors drop off?

Step 4: Apply Filters to refine your insights

Once you identify patterns, segment your data to uncover deeper patterns. You can:

• Compare desktop vs mobile behavior

• Segment new vs returning visitors

• Analyze specific campaigns or traffic sources

• Focus on high-value or converted users

The filter helps you understand why behavior differs across user groups.

Step 5: Use Compare Mode to validate changes

Once you identify a potential issue, validate it by comparing different datasets side by side.

You can compare:

• Variant A vs Variant B in an experiment

• Before vs After changes

• Different time periods

From the comparison, you can confirm whether a design or content change actually improves performance.

Common Use Cases for Heatmap Analysis

Here are some common scenarios where Heatmap can help you identify issues and improve page performance:

#1. Low Conversion rate on a Product or Landing page

Problem: Visitors are viewing your page, but few of them complete a purchase or click the main CTA.

How to analyze:

• Use Click Map to check if users are clicking the CTA or getting distracted by other elements

• Use Scroll Map to see if users actually reach the CTA section

• Apply Filters to compare behavior across devices (especially mobile vs desktop)

What you can verify:

• Users click images or non-clickable elements instead of the CTA

• The CTA is placed too far down the page

• Mobile users miss important sections

Action: Reposition key elements, simplify layout, or test a new CTA placement with an experiment.

#2. High Traffic but Low Engagement

Problem: Your page receives traffic, but users don’t interact much with content or key elements.

How to analyze:

• Use Scroll Map to identify where users drop off

• Use Click Map to see which areas receive little or no interaction
  

• Use Filters to analyze traffic sources (e.g., campaign vs organic)

What you can verify:

• Visitors leave before reaching important content

• Content hierarchy is unclear

• Traffic from certain campaigns is less engaged

Action: Improve above-the-fold content, adjust messaging, or align page content with traffic intent.

#3. A/B Test Results are Unclear

Problem: You run an experiment, but the results are inconclusive or difficult to interpret.

How to analyze:

• Use Compare Mode to view heatmaps of Variant A vs Variant B

• Use Click Map to compare interaction patterns

• Use Scroll Map to compare visibility and engagement

• Apply Filters to ensure consistent comparison (same device, same segment)

What you can verify:

• One variant attracts more clicks but not more conversions

• Users interact differently with layout changes

• A specific segment responds better to one variant

Action: Use behavior insights to refine your hypothesis and run a more focused experiment.

Learn more: Analytics Checklist Before You Declare an A/B Test Winner

These examples show how Heatmap helps you move from a problem to a clear optimization direction. In practice, you can apply the same approach to product pages, landing pages, and funnel steps.

Troubleshooting & Data Limitations

If your Heatmap does not display data as expected, check the following common issues:

Issue #1: No data displayed on Heatmap

This usually happens when there is not enough data collected.

How to fix:

• Expand the selected date range

• Wait for more traffic to be collected

• Ensure your page has active visitor sessions

Heatmap requires sufficient data to generate meaningful insights.

Issue #2: Heatmap shows very limited data

This may be caused by active filters narrowing your dataset.

How to fix:

• Review and remove unnecessary filters

• Check if you are filtering by a specific device, visitor type, or experiment

• Broaden the dataset to include more sessions

Over-filtering can hide useful patterns.

Issue #3: Some elements or sections show no interaction

Not all elements will appear on the Heatmap.

Possible reasons:

• The element did not receive any clicks or views

• Users did not scroll far enough to reach that section

Heatmap only visualizes areas with actual user interaction.

Issue #4: Heatmap does not match the current page layout

This can happen when your page has been updated after data was collected.

How to fix:

• Select a more recent date range

• Recheck after new data is collected

Please note that the GemX Heatmap reflects historical data, not the current live layout.

Issue #5: Unable to compare variants in Compare Mode

If Compare Mode does not show expected results:

• Make sure the page is part of an active experiment

• Ensure both variants have collected enough data

• Check that the correct variant filter is applied

Comparison requires consistent and sufficient data across both datasets.

Issue #6: Data is delayed or not updating

Important Note: The Heatmap data is not real-time.

Heatmap data is refreshed approximately every 30 minutes, as a result, newly published pages or changes may take time to appear.

Please wait for the next update cycle before analyzing results.

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FAQs about GemX Heatmap

How much traffic do I need to use Heatmap effectively?

You don’t need very high traffic, but Heatmap works best when there are enough visitor sessions to reveal clear patterns. With very low traffic, interactions may appear scattered or incomplete. If your page has limited traffic, extend the date range to collect more sessions so behavior trends become easier to interpret.

Why is my Heatmap not showing any data?

This usually happens when there is not enough traffic, the selected date range is too narrow, or filters are limiting the dataset. It can also occur if the tracking script is not properly installed or active. Check your script setup, remove restrictive filters, and expand the timeframe to ensure data is captured correctly.

Does Heatmap track all pages on my Shopify store?

Heatmap only tracks pages within the Online Store channel where the GemX tracking script is active. It does not track checkout pages due to Shopify restrictions, and it may not capture traffic from unsupported environments. Make sure your tracking is correctly implemented across the pages you want to analyze.

Can I use Heatmap for A/B testing analysis?

Yes. Heatmap can be used alongside experiments to analyze how users interact with different variants. With features like Compare Mode, you can view behavior differences side by side and understand how layout or content changes impact user actions, helping validate which version performs better.

Does Heatmap affect my store speed?

No. Heatmap runs through a lightweight tracking script that operates in the background and does not significantly impact your store’s loading speed or performance. It is designed to collect behavior data efficiently without disrupting the user experience.

Realted Topics: 

Analytics

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Heatmap