Why heatmaps lie
Hotjar / Microsoft Clarity / FullStory will show you where users click and how far they scroll. It looks scientific. Reality: without conversion context, this data is misleading.
Where heatmaps fail
Click maps don't show intent. You see that 40% of users clicked on a product image. You don't know if it was curiosity, by mistake, or a conversion signal.
Scroll depth ignores engagement quality. 80% of users scroll to the bottom of the page. Brilliant! But 80% of them spent 2 seconds there and left.
What to track instead
- Conversion-segmented session recordings — only watch recordings from those who converted. Then those who nearly converted (added to basket but didn't complete).
- Funnel drop-offs with time — where users abandon and what the median time on step is.
- Form analytics — which field has the highest abandon rate.
- A/B tests — heatmaps aren't a validator, just a hypothesis generator.