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Pre-release. This guide applies when the Integrations hub is enabled for your ABConvert account.
Connecting ABConvert to Heatmap tags each visitor’s Heatmap session with the test they are in and the test group they were assigned to. In Heatmap you can then filter heatmaps, session recordings, and dashboards down to one test group, and compare how visitors behave in Control against each variant.

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What gets sent

On every storefront page load, for each running test the visitor is in, ABConvert hands Heatmap one tag with these fields: The field names are Heatmap’s, not ours: experiment_* fields describe the test and variant_* fields describe the test group.
A visitor in several running tests gets one tag per test. Tags are re-applied on every page load, so a returning visitor stays tagged for as long as they hold the assignment.

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Setup

1

Install Heatmap on your storefront

Heatmap must already be loading on your storefront pages. ABConvert does not install Heatmap.
2

Turn on the integration

In ABConvert, go to Integrations, find Heatmap under Analytics & Session, and turn the switch on. No API key is needed: ABConvert uses the Heatmap script already on your page.
3

Verify the connection

Open a page with a running test in a fresh browser. In Heatmap, filter recordings by the ABConvert experiment; the session should appear under the test group you landed in. The Integrations page reads Called or queued after ABConvert successfully hands the tag to Heatmap’s script. It does not confirm Heatmap stored or displayed it.

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Use cases

  • Compare interaction maps: filter a heatmap to one test group before comparing clicks and scroll depth with Control.
  • Watch a targeted recording: find a recording tagged with a test ID and group name before reviewing a confusing behavior change.
  • Check visual context: use the test-group preview to confirm which storefront version a heatmap belongs to.

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Test group previews in Heatmap

Heatmap renders a screenshot of each test group so you can see which version a heatmap belongs to. It does this by loading your storefront with the ABConvert preview parameter:
The value is experiment_id:variant_id, the same two fields from the tag. It works on any storefront URL where the test runs, needs no cookies or login, and lasts for that browser session. Visits made this way are not tagged and do not count in your ABConvert results.

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Things to know

  • Tagging adds no network requests of its own. ABConvert hands the tag to Heatmap’s script, which stores it in the browser and includes it with the session data it already sends.
  • The tag is set from the visitor’s browser by the ABConvert script. Ad blockers or a declined consent prompt can stop it, so the session count in Heatmap runs a little lower than the visitor count in ABConvert.
  • Heatmap’s script loads after the page starts rendering. ABConvert waits up to ten seconds for it; a visitor who leaves before then is not tagged on that page.
  • Heatmap does not load inside Shopify checkout, so tests that only change checkout do not tag sessions.
  • Heatmap identifies a test group by its number, not by which test it came from. A visitor who lands in the first test group of two tests at the same time ends up tagged for only one of them. We have reported this to Heatmap.
  • Renaming a running test changes experiment_name for sessions tagged after the rename. Filter on experiment_id in Heatmap if you rename tests.
  • Test group names are the labels you set in ABConvert. If you renamed a test group to something like $49, that is what variant_friendly_name carries.
  • Preview and forced visits (from the ABConvert preview bar, abconvert_force, or the JavaScript API) are never tagged, so your own QA does not show up in a test group’s heatmap.
  • Use ABConvert’s own dashboard for statistical significance and revenue. Use Heatmap to see why one test group behaved differently.