How to Install Microsoft Clarity and Enhance On-Page Content

Gaining some ‘Clarity’ on how users USE your website

A bit of a play on words, but it perfectly captures the point I want to make. We all know—or should know—how essential it is to understand what our customers want to see, read, or do on our websites. This insight helps us serve customers better. Traditionally, we have relied on data and charts to gauge user interactions, but now we have a way to truly see their journey on our site in real-time, providing powerful insights to enhance the user experience.

Introducing Microsoft Clarity

We love this tool. It’s really helpful and best of all, it’s FREE!

So what is it?

Microsoft Clarity is a free visual analytics tool designed to help website owners understand user behaviour on their sites. It offers insights into how users interact with website elements, helping to identify areas for improvement to enhance user experience.

Clarity provides a range of features, including heat-maps, session recordings, and data on user engagement.

Here’s a breakdown of its key features and benefits:

1. Session Recordings:

Actually watch users on your websites, view what they click, how hong they spend on pages and exactly how they navigate, scroll, and click through your website. This is super helpful in identifying areas of confusion or barriers in the user journey.

2. Heatmaps:

Clarity offers both click heat-maps (showing where users click) and scroll heat-maps (revealing how far users scroll down the page). Heat-maps are great to show you what is the most engaging areas your pages and identify any overlooked sections, which could be improved further.

3. Insights Dashboard:

The Clarity dashboard provides insights into user behaviour metrics like click rate, scroll depth, and engagement. You can also see metrics on JavaScript errors and dead clicks (clicks that do not lead to any action).

4. User Filters and Segmentation:

You can filter user sessions by various criteria, such as the device, browser, geographic

How to Install Clarity and Enhance On-Page Content

Step 1: Setting Up Microsoft Clarity

Before using Clarity to analyse user behaviour, you’ll need to set it up on your website.

Here’s how:

1. Sign Up for Microsoft Clarity

Go to the Microsoft Clarity website and click Get Started.

Sign in with a Microsoft account (or create one if you don’t have one yet).

2. Create a New Project

Once logged in, click New Project.

Enter a name for your project and the website URL you want to track.

Set your time zone and preferred language.

3. Add the Tracking Code to Your Website

After setting up your project, Clarity will generate a unique tracking code snippet.

You need to add this code to your website:

1. Copy the tracking code.
2. Check if your theme has a section for including header code, or use a plugin like Insert Headers and Footers to place the code in the header section of every page.
3. Paste the code right before the closing </head> tag.
4. Save the changes to ensure Clarity is tracking all pages.

4. Verify Installation

Once installed, return to Clarity’s dashboard and click Verify. It may take a few hours for data to populate, so be patient before analysing your website’s data.

Improve Your On-Page Content

Now that Microsoft Clarity is up and running, you can start using its features to make data-driven decisions.

Here are some of the most effective ways to leverage Clarity for enhancing on-page content.

Analyse Session Recordings

Session recordings are invaluable for understanding how users interact with your content. Watch recordings to see where visitors scroll, pause, or click within your pages. This can reveal:

• Content that resonates:
  Notice where users spend the most time to understand what captures their attention. You can then expand or further highlight this content.
• Confusing elements:
  If users click repeatedly on non-clickable elements, it may indicate they’re unsure about what to do next. Clarify these areas with better calls-to-action (CTAs) or navigation cues.

2. Utilise Heat-maps for User Engagement Insights

Clarity provides two main types of heat-maps:

• Click Heat-maps:
  Shows where users click most on a page. Use this data to assess if users are engaging with key elements like buttons, links, and images. If important elements are getting overlooked, consider repositioning them for better visibility.
• Scroll Heat-maps:
  Helps you see how far users scroll down each page. If visitors are dropping off before reaching important content, consider moving key information higher up or adding engaging elements to keep them scrolling.

3. Review User Engagement Metrics

The Clarity dashboard offers useful metrics that help you refine on-page content, including:

• Engagement rate:
  Tracks how actively users interact with a page. Low engagement may indicate that the content isn’t interesting or relevant. Consider rewriting content to make it more engaging or interactive.
• Quick Backs:
  Indicates users who leave a page and quickly return, which could signal confusion. Revise content to improve clarity or provide clearer navigation.
• Dead Clicks:
  Shows clicks that don’t lead to any action. Reducing dead clicks by adjusting or removing non-functional elements improves the user experience.

4. Identify Areas to Simplify Content

If you notice users are dropping off or skipping through content, it might be too complex or lengthy. Use insights from session recordings to identify these areas and consider the following:

• Break up long sections with headers and bullet points to improve readability.
• Use visuals like images or infographics to simplify complex information.
• Add summaries or key takeaways at the beginning or end of sections.

5. Optimise Call-to-Action (CTA) Placements

Analysing click heat-maps helps you see whether users are interacting with your CTAs. If CTAs are being missed, try adjusting their positioning or appearance to make them more noticeable. A/B testing multiple CTA variations can also help improve conversion rates.

6. Troubleshoot High Exit Pages

If users frequently exit certain pages, it may indicate that the content doesn’t meet their expectations. Identify high exit pages using Clarity and consider:

• Updating content to ensure it aligns with the page title and meta description.
• Adding internal links to encourage users to navigate to other relevant pages.
• Revising headlines and subheadings to better match user intent.

Additional Tips for Microsoft Clarity

• Check regularly:
  Reviewing Clarity insights on a regular basis ensures you stay updated on user behaviour trends.
• Use Clarity with other tools:
  Combining Clarity with Google Analytics provides a broader view of site performance, helping you make more comprehensive content adjustments.

Start Using Microsoft Clarity for Better On-Page Content

Microsoft Clarity offers a range of tools that reveal how users interact with your content, from heatmaps to session recordings. By monitoring these insights, you can make targeted improvements to on-page content, improving engagement and overall user experience. Start by installing Clarity, and watch how small adjustments can lead to big improvements.

For more information, visit Microsoft Clarity to get started with this powerful tool today!