CRO Glossary
Above-the-fold Heatmap
A visual map showing where users click, move, or scroll within the visible screen area before scrolling, used to diagnose attention and friction.
A heatmap aggregates behavioral data — clicks, mouse movement, or scroll depth — across many sessions into a color-coded overlay on a page. When scoped to the above-the-fold region, it isolates what happens in the visible viewport before any scrolling occurs, which is typically the highest-attention, highest-leverage real estate on a page.
CRO teams use these heatmaps to spot mismatches between design intent and actual behavior: a hero image getting more clicks than the CTA button next to it, users clicking on non-interactive elements (a sign they expect something to happen there), or a headline being ignored entirely. This is diagnostic, not confirmatory — it tells you where to look, not what to change or how much a change will help.
Example: a SaaS landing page shows heavy click concentration on a decorative product screenshot and almost none on the actual "Start free trial" button beside it. That's a signal the CTA lacks visual weight or the screenshot looks clickable, prompting a hypothesis to test — larger button, contrasting color, or repositioning — rather than a conclusion on its own.
The main caveat is that heatmaps show aggregate patterns across a mixed population and can be skewed by outlier devices, screen resolutions, or a single viral traffic source, so they're best paired with session recordings and treated as a source of test ideas rather than proof of a problem.
Related terms
Above vs Below Median Split
A segmentation technique that divides users into two groups at the median of a metric to compare high and low engagers.
Qualitative Feedback Loop
A recurring process of collecting and acting on user comments, session recordings, and survey responses to inform test hypotheses.
Experiment Metadata
The structured record of who, what, when, and how for a test — hypothesis, owner, dates, variants, and metrics used to track and audit it.
Pre-Test Analysis
The upfront work of validating traffic, metrics, and baseline data quality before launching an experiment.
Above-the-Fold vs Below-the-Fold Messaging Hierarchy
How the order and prominence of value-proposition messaging is split between the visible screen and the rest of the page.
Experiment Contamination
When a control or variant group is unintentionally exposed to the other condition, corrupting the comparison.
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