Over the holidays, I watched the survival show Outlast on Netflix, where contestants are dropped into the Alaskan wilderness with limited supplies to compete for a $1 million prize. Much like Outlast, the internet is a wilderness where businesses are constantly competing for consumer attention and engagement.
In this competitive digital world, your website must leverage every available tool to not just compete, but to truly stand out and effectively convert visits into meaningful actions. Microsoft Clarity has plenty of powerful tools that provide insights needed to navigate and optimize your online environment. With these tools at your disposal, you can increase conversion rates and captivate your potential customers more effectively. In this article I’ll show you how to utilize these tools! Fortunately, in our digital wilderness, the only thing we need to outrun are outdated strategies, not black bears.
Using Heat Maps to Drive Conversions
Nobody likes excessive scrolling. If your goal is to drive conversions, one of your top priorities should be making the conversion process as seamless as possible. Clarity’s scroll map tells you precisely where users start to lose interest on a page.
Catch Where Users Stop Scrolling
One of my favorite ways to use this tool is to look for trends of when users are dropping off. If you look at the screenshot below, users are starting to drop around the 15%-20% mark. This is when I would advise a client to pack this early section with essential information but caution them to not overwhelm the user. For example, I would recommend making the calls-to-action (CTAs) clear and concise, whether it’s “Contact Us Today” or “Request a Free Sample.” We want our CTAs to clearly tell users what to do next and guide them smoothly towards a conversion.
Clarity recently released a new feature called attention maps which you learn more about by reading the blog here.
Screen recordings to Understand User Behavior
As someone who loves reality TV, the session recording feature in Microsoft Clarity really speaks to me. Just like watching the strategy unfold on screen, we can observe exactly how users interact with our site. We can see precisely where users hesitate, zoom through, or get stuck. Are they lingering on a section without taking action, or do they leave after reaching a particular point? This might indicate they’re not finding what they need or that the information isn’t hitting the mark.
Find the Highly Engaged Users
Within our digital agency, we often use screen recordings to gain a better understanding of user behavior. To identify highly engaged users, we filter screen recordings to show those who spend more than two minutes on a page and visit at least three different pages. These recordings allow us to observe real-time interactions, where the user’s attention is focused, and what drives their decision-making process. Check out the new user intent filters to learn more!
Clarity’s screen recordings have proven to be helpful in identifying trends and patterns, such as which elements on a page capture attention. It’s easier to see what is working well, whether that’s a particular CTA placement, design feature, or layout choice, and identify areas where improvements can be made to enhance user experience. By analyzing screen recordings, we can not only improve the performance of individual pages but also build a stronger overall customer journey to the conversion point.
Refining Engagement with Click Maps
Click maps in Microsoft Clarity provide direct feedback on what’s catching your users’ attention and what’s missing the mark entirely. Ever wonder if that “Buy Now” button is getting enough attention, or if your “Learn More” link is just floating unnoticed in a sea of page content? Click maps provide the answers by visually representing where users are actually clicking.
Using this data, we can make informed decisions about where to place crucial CTAs and essential conversion-driving information, such as a “Contact” button. If users are most interactive at the top of the page, that’s where key details should go. If a button is in a prominent location but isn’t attracting attention, consider adjusting its color to make it more eye-catching or testing alternative phrasing to better resonate with your audience. These small but strategic changes can significantly improve engagement and drive conversions.
By optimizing the placement, color, and copy of our buttons and links, we ensure nothing vital goes unnoticed. Think of it as setting the stage just right, so when the spotlight hits, every key element shines perfectly.
Using Click Maps to Optimize Landing Pages
We often use this feature on our clients’ landing pages for digital ads. For example, recently while analyzing a client’s landing page for Meta ads, I noticed users were particularly interested in learning about their events and programs. Based on this insight, I created a plan to update the ad copy to highlight these offerings, aiming to attract more qualified leads and boost conversions.
This isn’t just about making things look pretty—it’s about making every interaction on your site as intuitive and compelling as possible, paving the way for more clicks, and ultimately, more conversions.
Combining Clarity with GA4 Insights to Increase Conversion Rates
In Outlast, forming unexpected alliances in the harsh, outdoor environment can mean the difference between victory and elimination. Players in this game have no choice but to rely on each other for survival. This strategy of collaboration for a shared goal isn’t just for survival games, it’s something we can apply directly to digital marketing strategies. By integrating Microsoft Clarity with Google Analytics 4 (GA4), we’re essentially building a powerful alliance designed to outperform and outlast the competition.
GA4 equips us with meticulously curated datasets. You can track everything from digital ad campaigns and email performance to custom events set up via Google Tag Manager. But when paired with Clarity, those datasets come to life.
Clarity provides a behind-the-scenes look with session recordings and click maps. It’s like getting inside the mind of your website visitors to see what really matters to them, ensuring you don’t just survive, but thrive. This integration allows us to adapt and refine our strategies, much like teams who adjust their strategy during the commercial break, once they see how their initial course of action worked out. By leveraging these combined insights, you can stay one step ahead of the competition, creating content that engages your audience and converts site visitors into loyal customers.
Just as Outlast contestants had to adapt to the Alaskan wilderness to survive, your website must adapt to meet user expectations and guide them along their customer journey. By leveraging Clarity, every click, scroll, and hesitation becomes an opportunity to refine and optimize your digital strategy. In this competitive environment, improving the customer experience and journey is a sure path to outlasting your competition.
Having earned a marketing degree in December of 2023, Roslyn blends a passion for creative marketing with a keen interest in the psychological aspects that drive consumer behavior. When not diving into the latest trends in marketing, Roslyn enjoys discovering new music, though Taylor Swift remains a constant favorite! As a Southern Maine native, the coast is her favorite place to be. Whether it’s a warm day on Wells Beach or hiking scenic trails, she loves spending time outdoors. With college now in the rearview, she is eager to travel and begin new adventures. Driven by a curious mind, Roslyn is ready to immerse herself into the world of marketing with Flyte New Media!