CRO Glossary
Click Depth
The number of clicks or page views a user makes before reaching a goal, used to gauge friction and engagement.
Click depth measures how many interactions stand between a visitor and a conversion goal. A shallow path (fewer clicks) is generally associated with less form friction and lower abandonment, though this isn't universal — sometimes an extra step (like a confirmation screen) reduces errors and actually helps conversion. Click depth is a diagnostic metric, not a goal in itself; the point is to understand where and why users are clicking around before they buy or bounce.
CRO practitioners use click depth to spot navigation problems: if users typically need 6 clicks to find a product that should take 2, that signals a discoverability issue worth testing solutions for, such as improved search, filters, or a redesigned category page. It's often analyzed alongside segment analysis since click depth patterns can vary widely between new and returning visitors, or mobile versus desktop.
Example: an analytics review shows mobile users average 8 page views before checkout versus 4 for desktop users. That gap prompts a hypothesis test around simplifying the mobile navigation to shorten the path to purchase.
Related terms
Above vs Below Median Split
A segmentation technique that divides users into two groups at the median of a metric to compare high and low engagers.
Qualitative Feedback Loop
A recurring process of collecting and acting on user comments, session recordings, and survey responses to inform test hypotheses.
Experiment Metadata
The structured record of who, what, when, and how for a test — hypothesis, owner, dates, variants, and metrics used to track and audit it.
Pre-Test Analysis
The upfront work of validating traffic, metrics, and baseline data quality before launching an experiment.
Above-the-Fold vs Below-the-Fold Messaging Hierarchy
How the order and prominence of value-proposition messaging is split between the visible screen and the rest of the page.
Experiment Contamination
When a control or variant group is unintentionally exposed to the other condition, corrupting the comparison.
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