Definition
A click map is a visual analytics tool that displays subscriber click activity directly on top of your email design. Each link and clickable area in the email is colour-coded or numbered to show which elements received the most clicks, making it immediately obvious what caught subscribers' attention.
Click maps help email marketers understand how subscribers interact with their email content. They reveal which calls-to-action, images, and links drive engagement, and which parts of your email are being ignored.
What Click Maps Reveal
| Insight | What It Means | Actionable Takeaway |
|---|---|---|
| Primary CTA gets most clicks | Design is working as intended | Keep optimising the primary CTA |
| Image link gets more clicks than button | Subscribers prefer clicking images | Test image-based CTAs more prominently |
| Footer links get no clicks | Subscribers are not scrolling that far | Move key links above the fold |
| Multiple links dilute clicks | Too many choices reduce any single action | Simplify the email to focus on one goal |
| Surprising link gets high clicks | Subscriber interest differs from expectations | Feature that content more prominently |
How to Use Click Maps
- Review after every campaign: Compare click maps across campaigns to identify patterns
- Test variations: Send A/B tests and compare click maps to see which layout drives better engagement
- Check mobile vs desktop: Subscribers on different devices interact with email layout differently
- Identify inactive areas: Redesign sections that consistently receive no clicks
- Optimise above-the-fold content: Ensure the most important links appear where subscribers click most
Tools
Most major email service providers include built-in click mapping features. Standalone tools like Email on Acid, Litmus, and Mailmodo offer click maps as part of their email testing and analytics suites.
Related Glossary Terms
A/B Testing
A/B testing in email marketing is the practice of sending two variations of an email to a small sample of your list to determine which version performs better before sending the winner to the remaining subscribers.
Abandoned Cart Email
An abandoned cart email is an automated message sent to customers who added items to their online shopping cart but left without completing the purchase. It is one of the highest-converting email types in ecommerce.
AIDA Model for Email
The AIDA model (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) is a classic copywriting framework used to structure email campaigns that guide subscribers from awareness to conversion.
AMP for Email
AMP for Email is a Google-developed framework that allows email messages to include interactive elements like forms, carousels, accordions, and live content. It turns static emails into dynamic, interactive experiences directly inside the inbox.
Anchoring Effect in Email Marketing
The anchoring effect is a cognitive bias where the first piece of information presented (the anchor) influences subsequent decisions, used in email to frame pricing and value perception.
Announcement Email
An announcement email is a dedicated campaign that communicates a specific update, milestone, or change to subscribers, from product launches and feature releases to company news and events.
Frequently Asked Questions
In email marketing, the terms are often used interchangeably. Both visually represent click concentration. The primary difference is that click maps typically show exact click counts or percentages per link, while heat maps use colour gradients to show relative click density.
Standard click maps aggregate all subscriber clicks into a single view. Some advanced analytics tools offer individual-level click tracking that shows the sequence and timing of each subscriber's clicks within an email.
Click maps become reliable with a few hundred clicks. With fewer clicks, patterns may not be statistically significant. For low-volume sends, consider aggregating click data across multiple campaigns.