Where is the Funk in clickstream?

The clickstream analysis (sometimes called clickstream analytics) is the process of collecting, analyzing, and reporting aggregate data about which pages visitors visit in what order – which are the result of the succession of mouse clicks each visitor makes (that is, the clickstream). There are two levels of clickstream analysis, traffic analysis and e-commerce analysis.

Traffic analysis operates at the server level by collecting clickstream data related to the path the user takes when navigating through the site. Traffic analysis tracks how many pages are served to the user, how long it takes pages to load, how often the user hits the browser’s back or stop button, and how much data is transmitted before a user moves on.

E-commerce-based analysis uses clickstream data to determine the effectiveness of the site as a channel-to-market by quantifying the user’s behavior while on the Web site. It is used to keep track of what pages the user lingers on, what the user puts in or takes out of their shopping cart, and what items the user purchases.

Because a large volume of data can be gathered through clickstream analysis, many e-businesses rely on pre-programmed applications to help interpret the data and generate reports on specific areas of interest.

Clickstream analysis is considered to be most effective when used in conjunction with other, more traditional, market evaluation resources. Clickstream is almost worthless on its own. Good domain knowledge is required to make the most out of it. In addition to that some help from experienced marketing people is advised.

What kind of data do I get out of a clickstream analysis and what can I do with it?

Clickstreams, also known as click paths, are the route that visitors choose when clicking or navigating through a site. A clickstream is a list of all the pages viewed by a visitor, presented in the order the pages were viewed, also defined as the ‘succession of mouse clicks’ that each visitor makes. A clickstream will show you when and where a person came in to a site, all the pages viewed, the time spent on each page, and when and where they left. Check this example report and you will get it immediately. Not enough? Then take a look at Clickstream Study Reveals Dynamic Web.

Taken all together, as aggregated statistics, clickstream info will tell you, on average, how long people spend on your site, and how often they return. It will also tell you which pages are the most frequently viewed.

The most obvious reason for examining clickstreams is to extract specific information about what people are doing on your site. Examining individual clickstreams will give you the information you need to make content-related decisions without guessing. Remember guessing is usually a bad thing to do (if you do not believe me read this and this) :)

There is a wealth of information to be analyzed, you can examine visitor clickstreams in conjunction with any of the information provided by a good stats program: visit durations, search terms, ISPs, countries, browsers, etc. The process will give you insight into what your visitors are thinking and furthermore how you should start thinking to provide them a better experience (and that is what you want right? Check this if you need motivation to do so).

Clickstream (funky) tools?

Guys at intelligent enterprise made a research you should check if you are in for buying software. However there are Open Source alternatives:

• StatViz is a simple program to help visualize the way visitors use your web site. Unlike traditional web statistics, the output of StatViz is a graph (why is visual data better than tables). The file format of the graph file is DOT.
• These files can be visualized using GraphViz.
• ZGRViewer for fancy data visualization.
• Pathalizer gives a nice, graphical birds-eye view of users’ behaviour.

Hope this covers the topic to a certain level. Leave a comment if you are interested in this topic.