The comparison analytics overlay is a type of heat map where, instead of blending multiple metrics into a single data point, each data point is represented as an individual metric or dimension, which are rendered in the overlay by different shapes and colors.
With comparison analytics, you can select and view multiple types of metrics individually on a single web page or a mobile app screen, allowing you to compare data points from each metric.
With the comparison analytics overlay, you can easily visualize usage from different metrics and dimensions together on a single page, allowing you to draw comparisons.
Metrics and the comparison analytics overlay
With comparison analytics, you select the metrics (user interaction events) to include in the overlay for analysis. The metrics available for selection depend on the type (web or mobile) of application.
These metrics are recorded into dimensions that are related to Acoustic Overstat and are visually represented through the comparison analytics overlay. For each metric, you see the number of clicks or hovers on the overlay for the date range and filters that are set. You can select multiple metrics to display.
Note: The total counts attributed to the selected metrics might differ than the counts shown on the overlay itself. The total count includes user interactions that occurred outside the boundary of the captured page.
Metrics for web applications
Metric | Description |
---|---|
Clicks | Displays all of the clicks for a page. |
Hovers | Captures each hover point on a page. A hover is when the mouse pointer is placed on top of an object for more than 1 second. The object does not need to be clicked to capture this data. The default time value to register a hover is 1 second. This value can be changed by the application developer in the UI Capture SDK. |
Hover to clicks | Captures each time that an object was hovered on for more than 1 second and then the object was clicked. The default time value to register a hover is 1 second. This value can be changed by the application developer in the UI Capture SDK. |
Avg hover time | Captures the average amount of time that an object is hovered on without being clicked. The unit of time is measured in seconds. The data also displays how many times the object was hovered on. |
Avg hover to click time | Captures the average amount of time that an object is hovered on before it is clicked. The unit of time is measured in seconds. The data also displays how many times the object was hovered on and then clicked. |
Metrics for mobile applications
Metric | Description |
---|---|
Taps | Displays all of the taps for a mobile app screen. |
Double-taps | Displays all of the double-taps for a mobile app screen. |
Tap and hold | Displays all of the tap and holds for a mobile app screen |
Swipes | Displays all of the swipes for mobile app screen. |
Pinch | Displays all of the pinch gestures for a mobile app screen. |
Spread | Displays all of the spread gestures for a mobile app screen. |
View the report builder for metric data
The metric data that is shown in the overlay is based on report data. When you are on an overlay and viewing the metrics for a data point, you can select the View report from this data icon for the metric. The View report from this data icon opens the report that was used to create the overlay data point.
About this task
When the comparison analytics overlay is displayed, you can:
- Apply a new range of dates.
- Select metrics to display.
- Use the Metric occurrences toggle to hide or show data points on the overlay.
On the comparison analytics overlay, data points for the selected metrics are displayed with 5 levels of opacity, as indicated by the Metric occurrences toggle.
The data point opacity for a metric corresponds to how frequently or infrequently the metric occurs on the page. The data points with a lower opacity (lighter and more transparent) indicate the areas of the page where the metric occurred less frequently or for a shorter period of time. The data points with a higher opacity (darker and less transparent) indicate the areas of the page where the metric occurred more frequently or for a longer period of time.
Use the Metric occurrences toggle to control the display of data points on the overlay. For example, if you wanted to see where visitors tapped most frequently on a page in your mobile app, use the toggle to hide the data points from those areas on the page where visitors tapped less frequently.
- Apply thresholds to metrics.
- The threshold setting controls the visualizations that are displayed on the overlay. For example, if you want to suppress a metric with lower-value visualization data from displaying on the overlay, you can increase the threshold for that metric. By increasing the threshold for the metric, you are essentially saying, "show the visualizations for the metric when it exceeds the defined threshold only, otherwise don’t display it".
- Show only the top indexed elements (items that might be covered by lower indexed items on a busy page).
When you select Display top elements only the data from the heat map is limited to the element with a higher z-index. The "z-index" is a CSS property that determines how the element is layered when the browser renders the page.
This type of customization can be helpful when you are analyzing pages with modals or other dynamic elements that "pop up" over the main page, such as an extending navigation menu. The Display top elements only feature acts a filter by suppressing the noise that occurs on lower z-indexed elements (things obscured by the menu) to more accurately depict activity on the menu. - Filter the data on the overlay by any dimensions that are associated with the data.
- View summary data for sub-section of the overlay
- Go from the overlay directly to the reports that are used to create the metrics data points on the overlay.
Use this procedure to apply the Comparison Analytics overlay to a snapshot.
Procedure
- In the Snapshot gallery, select a snapshot.
- Optional: To change the date range for the data that is displayed, select the calendar icon, and update the date range.
- Select the Comparison Analytics overlay.
- Select the View that you want to use.
- Optional: Select the Zoom factor that you want to use.
- Select the metrics icon. Then, choose the metrics that you want to compare and click Apply.
- Optional: Use the Metric occurrences toggle to hide or display metrics based whether they occur frequently or infrequently.
- To apply a threshold value for the metric you selected, select the customize icon. Use the slide bar to select the threshold value and click Apply.
- To see only the top indexed elements, select the customize icon. Select Display top elements only and click Apply.
- To see the data summary for a specific area of the screen, click the Sub-select icon. Use the sub-select box to select the area that you want to view.
To view a report of data points for the selected area, click the View report from this data icon in the Data summary window.
Data points for Avg hover time and Avg hover to click time are expressed in time (rather than count), providing you with insight on areas of the page that correspond to visitor hesitancy. For example, how long (in seconds) did visitors hover over an area on the page before deciding to click or not click in a field. - To filter or segment the information by a dimension:
- Select the Filter or Segment icon to see a list of dimensions for the data.
- Select a dimension.
- Select a dimension value.
- Select Filter or Segment.
The dimension and value that you selected are used to filter the data on the overlay. The next time that you select the Filter or Segment icon, the dimension that you specified is highlighted and the values that you selected are shown.
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Optional: Export the overlay
- Select Export as > CSV to export the overlay as a CSV file.
Exporting the overlay in CSV format can make it easier to analyze and manipulate the interaction data for elements, and potentially merge the interaction data with other data points, to gain a deeper understanding of how customers are interacting with the page.
You can also share the CSV file with users who might not have access to Acoustic Overstat. - Select Export as > PNG to export the overlay as an image.
After exporting the overlay as a PNG file, you can share it with other users in your organization.
The exported image includes the current metric(s), date range, and any filters that you selected.
- Select Export as > CSV to export the overlay as a CSV file.