When your site's daily traffic exceeds the data collection rate of the Hotjar plan it is on, we use a method known as sampling to collect data. Hotjar will track a portion of your site's daily traffic – known as the sample size – to build your reports.
Sampling only applies to data used in Recordings and Heatmaps. It doesn't apply to Incoming Feedback or Surveys.
Sampling is based on pageviews only for Manual Heatmaps
If you are using Manual Heatmaps, sampling will be based on pageviews which you can learn about below. For Recordings and Continuous Heatmaps, sampling is based on Sessions.
Sampling FAQs
- Why does Hotjar use sampling?
- How do I know if my Manual Heatmaps are based on sampled traffic?
- Why are my Manual Heatmaps based on sampled traffic when my total traffic stays within my plan's daily data collection rate?
- What is counted as a pageview?
- Do IP addresses I have blocked in Hotjar count towards my site's daily pageview limit?
Why does Hotjar use sampling?
Website traffic varies daily. Rather than tracking all your site's traffic and cutting off data collection once you reach your plan's daily data collection rate, we use predictive modeling to track data from a sample of your traffic throughout the entire day.
The traffic used in the sample is randomly selected and ensures you can see what your users are doing around the clock. Usage and behavior on sites changes throughout the day. This method gives you the best possible representation of your site user's usage even when your site's plan does not cover its total traffic.
Most customers choose to collect 100% of the available Hotjar data
Learn more about the importance of having 100% coverage on our Don't miss out on insights page.
How do I know if my Manual Heatmaps are based on sampled traffic?
Whenever a Heatmap report is based on sampled traffic, you will see a notice above the report saying "This report is based on a sample of your total users".
Why are my manual Heatmaps based on sampled traffic when my total traffic stays within my plan's daily data collection rate?
This is most likely due to traffic spikes. Hotjar's sampling algorithm tracks data evenly throughout the day, however, sites with sporadic traffic may experience sampled reports even though they've not exceeded their plan's daily data collection rate because of these spikes.
What is counted as a pageview?
A pageview is counted every time one of your site's pages loads where the Hotjar Tracking Code is installed.
Hotjar installed on Single Page Applications (SPAs), or pages using Virtual Page Views (VPVs), count each manual state change as a pageview.
Do IP addresses I have blocked in Hotjar count towards my site's daily pageview limit?
Yes, traffic from blocked IPs is still counted. However, this doesn't apply for user's who have Do Not Track enabled within their browser.