Placement, Heat Maps, & CrazyEgg

If you’re of the opinion that the placement of various elements on your pages work themselves out naturally, there is more to the art of layout that needs discovering!

If you were a starving cross-country road tripper pulling off the freeway to get something to eat, most likely you’d choose one of the closest fast-food restaurants right off the exit. For that reason, those lots on by the freeway exit are probably much more expensive than land a few miles into the countryside.

Just as a realtor would notice the value difference for land lots, you should consider the space on your website to be very unequal.

Tools like heat maps visually track mouse movements so you can instantly see where on the page viewers are most prone to click. Crazy Egg has devised some really nifty innovations that track related indicators to help webmasters use their page “real estate” wisely.

Here’s also a great basic little map created by Google that shows general trends of places on pages that the eye goes to first. It’s crucial that you use the prime space with warm colors to specifically and succinctly have your purpose noticed.

Some areas of a site are noticed, and some aren’t. Marketing is all about being noticed. Therefore, it’s essential to take a step back and ask, “What is the purpose of this page?” If you know your purpose, it’s easier to make it a priority.

When dealing with purpose, there are three main steps:

1. Identify.
2. Prioritize.
3. Place.

To use your most valuable space on your website for the most important parts of your cause, consider what exactly you want to have happen. Do you want viewers to buy something? Do you want them to sign up for an auto-responder so you have their contact info? Do you want to draw emotional support for your cause? Or do you want to highlight a few products on your home page to link customers to other areas of your site, etc? Do you want to come across as looking professional?

Then, decide what the most important elements are and organize accordingly!

Sure, if you saw a sign or some kind of promising indication that your favorite restaurant was only a mile down the road, the extra time spent might be worth satisfying your hunger appropriately, but that’s a big ‘might’ in the face of immediate gratification. Web surfers need that same instant gratification, so if you want them to notice it—make it instantly available!