> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vortexiq.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Frustration Signal Spike, Microsoft Clarity

> Frustration Signal Spike for Microsoft Clarity stores. Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it.

**Card class:** [Hero](/nerve-centre/overview#card-classes-explained)  •  **Category:** [Nerve Centre](/nerve-centre/connectors#connectors-by-type)

## At a glance

> This real-time alert fires when site-wide dead or rage click volume jumps well above its normal range. It is your early warning that something across the store has become hard to use, whether a broken button, a slow-loading element, or a layout that looks clickable but is not. Spotting a frustration surge as it happens lets you act before it erodes conversion across many pages.

|                       |                                                                                                                            |
| --------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **What it counts**    | The volume of dead and rage click events site-wide that has crossed the spike trigger versus the rolling baseline.         |
| **Sample type**       | Behavioural session data from Microsoft Clarity (heatmaps and session recordings), refreshed on the standard data refresh. |
| **Why it matters**    | A site-wide frustration surge usually signals a real usability or technical fault that is silently costing sales.          |
| **Reading the value** | A non-zero or rising value means a frustration spike is active now; zero means click behaviour is within normal bounds.    |
| **Currency**          | count                                                                                                                      |
| **Time window**       | `RT`                                                                                                                       |
| **Alert trigger**     | `dead / rage click volume >2sigma vs baseline`                                                                             |
| **Sentiment key**     | `clr_alert_event_volume_drop`                                                                                              |
| **Roles**             | owner, marketing                                                                                                           |

## Calculation

Microsoft Clarity detects dead clicks and rage clicks across all tracked sessions. Vortex IQ compares the current site-wide volume of those signals against a rolling baseline and raises this alert when the volume rises more than roughly two standard deviations above normal. See the At a glance table for the trigger and time window, and the worked example below for how it reads in practice.

## Worked example

*A representative reading of **Frustration Signal Spike** for a typical merchant on Microsoft Clarity.* A store typically logs around 200 dead and rage clicks per hour. Following a new promotional banner going live, that figure jumps to roughly 900 in an hour and the alert fires. The merchant opens Vortex Mind to trace the surge upstream and finds the banner's call-to-action image was not wired to a link, so shoppers were clicking a dead element. A quick fix later, they ask Ask Viq "did frustration clicks return to normal after the banner fix?" in plain English to confirm the signal has settled.

## Sibling cards merchants should reference together

| Card                                                                                           | Why merchants reach for it                                                                         |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [`clr_alert_conversion_drop`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/clarity/checkout-path-frustration-spike) | The checkout-specific version of this alert, to see if the surge is concentrated on revenue pages. |
| [`clr_rage_click_rate`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/clarity/rage-click-rate)                       | Rage click rate, one of the two signals driving this spike.                                        |
| [`clr_dead_click_pct`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/clarity/dead-click-rate)                        | Dead click rate, the other signal feeding this alert.                                              |
| [`clr_dead_click_hotspots`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/clarity/dead-click-hotspots-by-page)       | Ranks pages by dead-click volume so you can localise the spike.                                    |
| [`clr_javascript_errors`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/clarity/javascript-errors-detected)          | JavaScript errors that often accompany a frustration surge.                                        |

## Reconciling against Microsoft Clarity

**Where to look in Microsoft Clarity's own dashboard:**

Open the Clarity Dashboard insights for dead clicks and rage clicks, then review the related recordings and heatmaps. 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.             |

**Cross-connector reconciliation:** complement with sibling cards in the same category for the full diagnostic picture. For divergence investigations, use Vortex Mind.

## Known limitations / merchant FAQs

**Q: How often does Frustration Signal Spike update?**
The card refreshes on the standard data refresh (typically every 30-60 minutes for live integrations). For real-time signals, force a manual refresh from the dashboard.

**Q: Why does my Microsoft Clarity dashboard show a different number?**
Clarity may sample sessions on high-traffic sites and filters bots automatically, so its raw click counts can differ from the Vortex IQ baseline. Period boundaries and any device or channel filters in your profile also shift the totals. Match those settings before assuming a real divergence.

**Q: What counts as the baseline this alert measures against?**
The baseline is the store's own recent normal range for dead and rage click volume, so the alert is relative to your traffic rather than a fixed industry number. This means a busy store and a quiet store can both trigger fairly.

**Q: Can I customise the alert threshold?**
Yes, sensitivity thresholds are configurable per profile in the Sensitivity tab. Adjust to match your business baseline rather than relying on the generic default.

***

### Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre

*Frustration Signal Spike* is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across Microsoft Clarity and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English.

[Start for free](https://app.vortexiq.ai/login) or [book a demo](https://www.vortexiq.ai/contact-us) to see this metric running on your own data.