Hotjar
Hotjar is a product experience insights platform that combines behavior analytics and user feedback to show what users do on a site and why they do it.
Key takeaways
- Hotjar reveals on-page friction that can hurt engagement and conversions even when rankings are strong.
- Its core features include heatmaps, session recordings, surveys, and feedback polls.
- Hotjar complements Google Analytics by adding visual and qualitative evidence for UX decisions.
- It is now part of Contentsquare.
For SEO practitioners, Hotjar helps identify on-page friction that can hurt engagement, clicks, and conversions even when rankings are strong.
What people use Hotjar for
- Heatmaps – Visualize aggregate clicks, scroll depth, and mouse movements on any page.
- Session recordings – Watch individual user sessions to spot hesitation, confusion, and drop-off points.
- Surveys and feedback polls – Collect direct on-site feedback to capture user intent or pain points.
- Form analysis – See where users abandon forms or struggle with fields.
- User testing – Recruit testers to complete tasks while recording their screen and audio.
Quick-start workflow
- Sign up at Hotjar and create a site.
- Install the tracking code by adding the JavaScript snippet to your site's
<head>. - Set up a heatmap – Choose a page (e.g., a high-traffic landing page) and let data collect for at least 100 sessions.
- Enable session recordings – Filter by page, device, or user behavior to find relevant sessions.
- Create a survey – Add a short on-page poll to ask visitors about their intent or satisfaction.
- Review insights – Look for patterns like rage clicks, dead clicks, or scroll depth drop-offs.
When not to start here
- You need raw traffic numbers – Hotjar is qualitative; use Google Analytics for pageviews, bounce rates, and conversion funnels.
- Your site has very low traffic – Heatmaps and recordings require a minimum number of sessions to be statistically meaningful.
- You haven't set up privacy/consent – Hotjar collects personal data; you must comply with GDPR, CCPA, and other regulations.
- You want A/B testing – Hotjar does not run experiments; pair it with tools like Google Optimize or VWO.
Alternatives
| Tool | Key difference |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Clarity | Free, integrates with Google Analytics, offers heatmaps and recordings. |
| FullStory | Advanced session replay with developer tools and analytics. |
| Crazy Egg | Focused on heatmaps and A/B testing. |
| PostHog | Open-source product analytics with session recording. |
Next step
FAQ
What is Hotjar used for?
Hotjar is used to understand user behavior on websites through heatmaps, session recordings, and feedback tools, helping improve UX and conversions.
Is Hotjar free?
Hotjar offers a free plan with limited features and paid tiers with more capabilities.
How does Hotjar work?
Hotjar works by embedding a JavaScript snippet on your site to collect interaction data and feedback from visitors.
What are Hotjar alternatives?
Popular alternatives include Microsoft Clarity, FullStory, Crazy Egg, and PostHog.
Related topics
Sources
- Hotjar Help Center — Primary product definition and positioning from the vendor.
- Hotjar Blog — Vendor explanation of key features and use cases.
- Contentsquare + Hotjar — Confirms ownership/status change and current product context.
- Google Analytics Help — Best internal link/reference for the quantitative analytics comparison Hotjar commonly complements.
Reviewed by Lucía Marín, Founding editor.