If you’ve never used a heatmapping tool (like the ones offered at CrazyEgg or HotJar) you’ll probably be surprised, and maybe a little overwhelmed, at the amount of insight you can glean. Being able to see and digest user behavior, whether it be how far the average user scrolls or where most clicks are happening on a particular page, can be invaluable in understanding the effectiveness of content placement or calls-to-action.

These tools typically display data in a few ways. Areas of a web page that get more activity, whether it be through user scrolling patterns or actual click behavior, will be colored to help visualize the activity. Orange and Red are typically used for areas with more activity. Blue and Black are for “colder” areas that garner less attention from users.

We typically utilize heatmapping tools before a client’s website redesign, mostly because they can offer insights that may be harder to detect from Google Analytics. But there are also other reasons why this can be an incredibly effective tool.

Here are a few ways that these tools can offer actionable insights of your web page:

Deciding on most effective placement of key calls-to-action

Seeing the scrolling patterns and click behavior of users is usually pretty eye-opening. It turns out, that call-to-action below the fold that you thought was beautifully written and incredibly intuitive? 90% of your users never see it. Understanding the placement of calls-to-action is just as important as how they are written and/or designed.

Ensuring the best possible user experience

We often find that our clients are surprised when they see where clicks are happening on their site. Things like images, addresses, and phone numbers are usually assumed by the average user to be clickable. Using imagery and higher value content pieces as gateways into a conversion funnel can help nudge your user toward the end goal you’ve setup. Seeing content pieces of a page (such as images or text) that are being frustratingly clicked on over and over that don’t link anywhere usually has the effective of jump-starting an audit of all page content.

Understanding the highest value referral sources

Though this information is available through Google Analytics, it can sometimes also be helpful to see the exact actions taken by users from a particular referral source. For instance, being able to visually map the users coming from Google as opposed to Bing, or your preferred paid marketing channel over organic traffic, as it relates to activities or clicks on a call-to-action can sometimes offer insights that are a little harder to deduce from looking at hard numbers or graphs in Google Analytics.

In summary, any tool that helps us gain actionable insight into user behavior for our clients is incredibly valuable to us. We’ve found that heatmapping tools can be an incredibly helpful resource in helping understand user behavior and assist our clients in making the necessary changes to raise conversions or meet marketing goals.

In an ever-growing world of technology, it can become overwhelming trying to keep up with the myriad of changes and risks involved with “doing it yourself”. That is why more and more businesses and organizations are outsourcing their IT department to a Managed Services company. As National Director of Business Development for Atiba a Nashville Managed Services company, here are my top 5 benefits that can immediately be gained through outsourcing your IT through Managed Services.

1. Controlling Costs

Outsourcing allows you to budget effectively by only paying for what you use when you need it. Also, rather than having a full-time IT staff that may or may not have “enough work” to justify their compensation, outsourcing Managed Services allows you to focus your resources where you need them most.

2. Reduce Risk

No matter the business, there is sensitive data and information that needs to be protected. Are you positive that your current firewall, servers and security measures are up to date and doing their assigned tasks? A Managed Services company who is familiar with the requirements and standards needed to stay compliant will allow you to minimize the risk associated with maintaining sensitive information.

3. Experienced and Qualified

If the HR department is hiring the IT staff, how do they know that they have the experience truly needed to meet the needs of the organization? Would you go see a doctor if you were the only patient, or would you want one that has seen and diagnosed many issues before? The same is for your IT department. Trust the experts that are seeing more “patients”.

4. Higher Efficiency

Organizations that turn to the DIY approach can have much higher costs and longer time frames for implementation and fixes, which filters down to their customers. A highly skilled Managed Services team can implement new technology and forecast issues prior to them happening, allowing no downtime and loss of production. This also allows the organization to focus on their core business rather than IT decisions that may or may not be correct or needed at all.

5. Level the Playing Field

Having a Managed Services partner will allow your organization to have access to similar technology and expertise that typically only larger corporations have. This allows you to grow and scale at the pace you want without worrying about your IT keeping up. This is also closely related to the first benefit I listed regarding controlling costs.

Each one of these benefits can easily be dissected further, creating a much larger list of reasons to outsource your IT department to a Managed Services company, but this should give you enough information to start the conversation within your organization of what is best for you and your business. As a Nashville Managed Services company, Atiba are happy to answer any questions you have surrounding this service.

The Atiba Jam Band conducted its initial practice session at JamTech in Berry Hill on Friday.

Our motley crew belted out songs by Bob Dylan (who just won a Noble Prize) and Credence Clearwater Revival (who, shockingly, have not yet won a Noble Prize) and generally just had a lot of fun. Thanks to the folks at JamTech for their creativity, tips and patience. Be on the lookout for an Atiba Jam Band appearance near you!

Check out Atiba founder JJ Rosen’s latest column for The Tennessean:

To selfie or not to selfie? Question sparks spirited family debate

“Leveraging a trend, the inventor of the selfie stick saw an opportunity in the convergence of smart-phones and social media to make millions of dollars with a relatively simple idea.   This concept of “trend-based businesses” depends on identifying a need around a social fad and then finding a way to heavily market it — fast.”

Rosen’s column appears twice a month. You can view an archive here.

Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Atiba serves as a one-stop shop for strategic web design, web development, CIO consulting services and business intelligence, custom software development, mobile app development, IT support, network services and security. Atiba’s service divisions include Atiba Network, Atiba Software and Wheelhouse Marketing.

Check out Atiba founder JJ Rosen’s latest column for The Tennessean:

Technology touches all facets of life

“Whether it’s publishing, healthcare, education, travel – you name it – technology changes almost every facet of business or personal life.  If even our oldest institutions are forced to change with the times, it goes to show that every institution must embrace innovation in order to survive and thrive.”

Rosen’s column appears twice a month. You can view an archive here.

Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Atiba serves as a one-stop shop for strategic web design, web development, CIO consulting services and business intelligence, custom software development, mobile app development, IT support, network services and security. Atiba’s service divisions include Atiba Network, Atiba Software and Wheelhouse Marketing.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Atiba Holdings, LLC announced today that the company has entered into a new partnership with ServiceNow.

ServiceNow is a platform that is quickly growing to become the leading service management solution for enterprises to manage their entire business around.

With roots in IT, ServiceNow’s service management solutions address all the service domains of modern enterprises including human resources, facilities, and finance. IT started it for themselves, then went on to prove it is possible to apply service management to use cases outside of IT.  And by doing so, successfully deliver a modern service experience.

For more info on ServiceNow and Atiba’s expertise contact us today!

Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Atiba serves as a one-stop shop for strategic web design, web development, CIO consulting services and business intelligence, custom software development, mobile app development, IT support, network services and security. Atiba’s service divisions include Atiba Network, Atiba Software and Wheelhouse Marketing.

Check out Atiba founder JJ Rosen’s latest column for The Tennessean:

What happens when you’re not the next Bill Gates

“There are many out there whose entrepreneurial endeavors land them smack in the middle of the middle class. Despite dreams of becoming the next Bill Gates or Mick Jagger, most of us are neither the ultimate success story nor the ultimate failure. Semi-success.”

Rosen’s column appears twice a month. You can view an archive here.

Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Atiba serves as a one-stop shop for strategic web design, web development, CIO consulting services and business intelligence, custom software development, mobile app development, IT support, network services and security. Atiba’s service divisions include Atiba Network, Atiba Software and Wheelhouse Marketing.

       Working in information technology is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get. Each day is a new day; no day is ever the same. New tasks, opportunities, and challenges arise as others fade away.

I did not know what to expect on my first day at Atiba. I have been surrounded by computers and technology my entire life, yet the practice of truly understanding technology, its ins and outs, and its greater capabilities seamed so foreign to me. I would like to consider myself having slightly better computer know-how than the average twenty year old but compared to the professionals at Atiba, I know very little. That is begging to change.

In my few weeks at Atiba, I have been exposed to multiple areas of IT. Each day I have learned something I did not know the day before. And that continual growth of knowledge is priceless. The very first task I did at Atiba was quality assurance (QA) for the upcoming launch of a client’s rebranded website. Conceptually, I had learned about QA in school, but Atiba empowered me to learn by doing. Since the first task, Atiba has allowed me to contribute to their social media library, help manage their CRM systems, observe how technical support specialists operate, and visit customers on site. I am thankful for Atiba letting me freelance across the company to better understand IT. Interning at Atiba has been an incredible experience and the people working there have been even better. To the Atiba team that has taken time out of their busy days to help an intern learn a little more than the days before, thank you.

Check out Atiba founder JJ Rosen’s latest column for The Tennessean:

American voting system faces security risks

“Technology has a valuable role to play in our elections.  As voting machines have shifted from paper-based to computer-based and even internet-based, there are opportunities to make the voting process more accessible, efficient and reliable.”

Rosen’s column appears twice a month. You can view an archive here.

Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Atiba serves as a one-stop shop for strategic web design, web development, CIO consulting services and business intelligence, custom software development, mobile app development, IT support, network services and security. Atiba’s service divisions include Atiba Network, Atiba Software and Wheelhouse Marketing.