A few days I saw how one organization is using what’s known as a ‘heat map’ to track visitors. It’s called Crazy Egg (a name that gives you no clue about the neat service) and lets you see what links on your web site are glowing, and what parts of the site in general are on fire, so to speak.

The beauty of a heat map is that it shows the intensity of those warm bodies clicking on links in real time!

It sounds more creepy than it really is.

All it does, a bit like Google analytics, only more visually, is to give a communication manager a quick snapshot of what content (links) visitors are attracted to most, the sites referring to this link, the browsers used to get there etc.

So let’s say you create a micro-site for an event or a new program. You could basically beta test a variety of layouts for a few weeks by inviting people and watching the glow in real time. Then you could pick which layout is achieving the desired actions, and adjust the placement of those links.

Because it is a visual thing, this connection between data and navigation makes it is easy for people with different backgrounds –product marketing, e-commerce, web design, content creators – to respond to.

The service can be used on a month-to-month basis. Give it a try!