Clickstream Studies

What is a Clickstream?

A Clickstream can be defined as the record of what a user clicks during a web site visit. Clickstream studies analyze the trends in user-click activity—similar to how eye-tracking studies analyze where users look on a web page for information. When mapped, these series of clicks create a map that represents user intentions, desires, and ease of navigation of the site. The places where people click reveals where they expect to find the information that they are in search of as well as the trends for "hot buttons" in current web design. The results of clickstream studies can be analyzed and used to impact user-centered design and increase ease of navigation for websites by placing clickable areas where users expect to find them. Recent studies have found extensive data that lead to the conclusion that web use has become more dynamic, as represented by where and how frequently users are clicking on a web page and within a browser.