Clickstream

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A Clickstream is the recording of what a computer user clicks on while Web browsing or using another software application. As the user clicks anywhere in the webpage or application, the action is logged on a client or inside the Web server, as well as possibly the Web browser, routers, proxy servers, and ad servers. Clickstream analysis is useful for Web activity analysis, software testing, market research, and for analyzing employee productivity.

Use of clickstream data can raise privacy concerns, especially since some Internet service providers have resorted to selling users' clickstream data as a way to enhance revenue. There are 10-12 companies that purchase this data, typically for about $0.40/month per user.[1] While this practice may not directly identify individual users, it is often possible to indirectly identify specific users, an example being the AOL search data scandal. Most consumers are unaware of this practice, and its potential for compromising their privacy. In addition, few ISPs publicly admit to this practice.[2]

Since the business world is quickly evolving into a state of e-commerce, analyzing the data of clients that visit a company website is becoming a necessity in order to remain competitive. This analysis can be used to generate two findings for the company, the first being an analysis of a user’s clickstream while using a website to reveal usage patterns, which in turn gives a heightened understanding of customer behaviour. This use of the analysis creates a user profile that aids in understanding the types of people that visit a company’s website. As discussed in Van den Poel & Buckinx (2005), clickstream analysis can be used to predict whether a customer is likely to purchase from an e-commerce website. Clickstream analysis can also be used to improve customer satisfaction with the website and with the company itself. Both of these uses generate a huge business advantage.

With the growing corporate knowledge of the importance of clickstreams, the way that they are being monitored and used to build Business Intelligence is evolving. Data mining, column-oriented DBMS, and integrated OLAP systems are being used in conjunction with clickstreams to better record and analyze this data.

Clickstreams can also be used to allow the user to see where they have been and allow them to easily return to a page they have already visited, a function that is already incorporated in most browsers.

Unauthorized clickstream data collection is considered to be spyware, however there are organizations that use opt-in panels to generate market research using panelists who opt-in to share their clickstream data with other companies.