There are a number of how-to’s online showing how to create heat maps but they tend to take a lot of time and require at least an intermediate or advanced knowledge of Excel functions. You have all the relevant map data you need but no easy way to analyze them. You can use any of the hundreds of functions of a spreadsheet software, such as Excel, to make sense of your data and convert them into visual representations, such as graphs and pie charts. With ShowMyMaps’ help, creating heat maps is made simpler by just copy-and-pasting your data.
A heat map is a graphic representation of value densities within any given data. Different colors represent different values and make it easier to distinguish the varying levels of density based on markers on the map.
Create A Heat Map With ShowMyMap
A heat map is a graphic representation of value densities within any given data. Different colors represent different values and make it easier to distinguish the varying levels of density based on markers on the map. With ShowMyMap’s Heat Map function, creating a heat map from your Excel data only requires a few clicks of your mouse. Here’s how to do it.
Create A Heat Map
- Simply copy the data from your excel or google sheet and paste on ShowMyMap’s map-making tool or you can also easily drag and drop the file/s containing your data set. How to Create A Basic Map.
- Once your map is set up, head to the view page. When you’re viewing your full map, it will be on Default mode. Currently, the Heat Map mode/feature is available to all plans (Free, Pro and Pro+). You’ll find the Heat Map mode beside the Default mode option on the upper right corner of your map.
- Simply click on “Heat Map.”
- The markers on your map will be replaced by heat map colors, as shown below. Red signifies the highest density and the colors radiating outward represent decreasing density levels.
*Your heat map is interactive, just like any Google map. You can zoom in and out, or scroll/pan in any direction. A heat map can give you invaluable insights into page traffic and visitor behaviors by revealing “hot spots,” for example, or areas of your page that receive the most clicks; the prevalence of crimes in a specific location; how the same type of businesses, such as bookstores, is scattered throughout the map; and so much more.
View Map in a full screen map
You can use data from your heat map to choose the best location for your business; to do research for a journalistic report; to find potential leads; or to attract more visitors to your page. ShowMyMap’s heat map mode offers the following features:
- The colors’ radius decreases or increases as you zoom in or out.
- There are four default colors used; red signifies the highest density, followed by orange, yellow, and then green.
- The color intensity is fixed, i.e., the concentration of the red color does not change based on the density of clustering. ShowMyMap uses the number of markers within a cluster to assign colors depending on density.
- The opacity of the heat map layer is fixed.
- When the heat map is enabled, the markers/pins disappear.
Try us out for free and create your first map.
