At a glance
This is a Clarity-distinctive metric: the share of sessions where a shopper made a dead click, a click that produced no response. A rising rate means something on your store looks clickable but is not, quietly wasting shopper effort and trust. Because it rolls a subtle usability problem into one headline percentage, it earns a place on the executive view.
| What it counts | The percentage of tracked sessions that contained at least one dead click over the window. |
| Sample type | Behavioural session data from Microsoft Clarity (heatmaps and session recordings), refreshed on the standard data refresh. |
| Why it matters | A high dead click rate signals widespread confusion about what is interactive, which erodes confidence and conversion. |
| Reading the value | Lower is better; a rising percentage means more shoppers are clicking elements that do nothing. |
| Currency | percent |
| Time window | 30D vsP |
| Alert trigger | >8% of sessions |
| Sentiment key | clr_dead_click_pct |
| Roles | owner, marketing |
Calculation
Microsoft Clarity identifies dead clicks, where a click triggers no response, across recorded sessions. Vortex IQ expresses the count of sessions containing at least one dead click as a percentage of all tracked sessions over the window and compares it against the prior period. See the At a glance table for the alert trigger and time window, and the worked example below for how it reads in practice.Worked example
A representative reading of Dead Click Rate % for a typical merchant on Microsoft Clarity. A store usually runs at about 4% dead click rate. After a redesign it climbs to roughly 11% and crosses the alert trigger. The merchant opens Vortex Mind to trace the rise upstream and finds the new card layout makes product images look clickable when only the title links through. They ask Ask Viq “where are dead clicks rising fastest since the redesign?” in plain English, make the whole card clickable, and the rate settles back over the next period.Sibling cards merchants should reference together
| Card | Why merchants reach for it |
|---|---|
clr_dead_click_hotspots | Breaks the rate down to the specific pages driving it. |
clr_rage_click_rate | The companion frustration signal, often rising alongside dead clicks. |
clr_javascript_errors | JavaScript errors are a frequent root cause of dead clicks. |
clr_checkout_path_frustration | Shows whether dead clicks are hitting revenue-critical pages. |
clr_ux_health_score | The blended UX score this rate feeds into. |
Reconciling against Microsoft Clarity
Where to look in Microsoft Clarity’s own dashboard: Open the Clarity Dashboard dead-click insight and the supporting heatmaps and recordings. Confirm the period and any device or channel filters match the Vortex IQ profile. Why the Vortex IQ value may legitimately differ:| Reason | Direction | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Period boundary. Vortex IQ uses rolling windows by default; Clarity may use calendar periods. | Variable | Match the period range. |
| Sampling. Clarity may sample sessions on high-traffic sites; Vortex IQ reads what Clarity exposes. | Variable | Allow for sampling on busy stores. |
| Filter scope. Profile-level filters (device, channel, bot exclusion) may narrow the Vortex IQ view. | Variable | Match filter settings. |