Now here is something interesting. ClickHeat is a free tool that you can install on your own server to track where your users are clicking on your sites.

Now for a blog, this is a no brainer (assuming your host will allow it to be installed) because you always want to see where your traffic is for ads or even just to know where the best place to put your articles are. However, thinking bigger, this could be a valuable tool for just about any website.

Most people design in a vacuum. In other words, they build something they like…the client sees it, thinks it is the greatest thing since Elvis, and you put it online. The customer never sees it until it is live. What if they don’t like it? What if they are focusing on a different part of the site than you expected them too?

If you use a tool like ClickHeat, then you can see what is working and what isn’t and make the adjustments that make the most sense. Sounds good to me.

Now this isn’t the only tool out there that does this sort of thing. Crazy Egg does something very similar, except they do it online and it has a price tag once your site is rockin’ (over 5,000 hits in a given time period).

Diligint is another option. This one isn’t free either (it costs a one time $67), but it is installed on your server just like ClickHeat.

Whichever way you go, knowing what your users are doing is always helpful. If you can do that for free, then all the better.