Question
The List Report shows items that are visible on the page but appear under Not Visible on the List Report. Why?
Answer
The list report works this way:
- Anything with the visible attribute (or that is visible by default) is tracked.
- Anything that is not visible on your site but is an element on your page is tracked.
Our system tracks all clicks on all elements on the page. When we first process the creation of a Heatmap, our system takes an inventory of all elements on the page and certain attributes associated with them. These are things that you program into your site when developing the page.
When a visitor clicks an element, if the attribute state changes (e.g., from hidden to visible) and is compared with the original inventory we collected at the beginning, it is tracked under the ‘not visible’ section of the list report.
Therefore, even if an element is shown on the static screenshot of the report but appears under the not visible section of the List report, it is because the attribute changed in some way since we took inventory at the beginning.
Also, it is possible (and evident in your web page designs) that elements can be called the same thing but have different element types. So even though an element has the same name, the type could be a link, text, layout, form, etc. This is the raw programming aspect.
I hope that helps clarify things here. I know you are focused on the “tabs” now, but keep in mind that, while they look like tabs to you, how they are programmed and grouped (all the element types that make up that tab) will be treated differently. The List Report provides an opportunity for analysts to work with their programmers to clarify element name conventions and ensure tracking is accurate.