How Web 1.0 Fails: The Mismatch Between Hyperlinks and Clickstreams

TL;DR

This paper investigates the discrepancy between hyperlink structures and actual user navigation patterns on the Web, revealing that users prefer language-based, localized browsing driven by search engines, contrary to the global hyperlink design.

Contribution

It identifies and explains the mismatch between hyperlink design and user behavior, highlighting the role of local search engines and language preferences in navigation.

Findings

Users navigate within language-based groups rather than globally.

Webmasters' global hyperlink design does not match actual user pathways.

Local search engines significantly influence navigation patterns.

Abstract

The core of the Web is a hyperlink navigation system collaboratively set up by webmasters to help users find desired websites. But does this system really work as expected? We show that the answer seems to be negative: there is a substantial mismatch between hyperlinks and the pathways that users actually take. A closer look at empirical surfing activities reveals the reason of the mismatch: webmasters try to build a global virtual world without geographical or cultural boundaries, but users in fact prefer to navigate within more fragmented, language-based groups of websites. We call this type of behavior "preferential navigation" and find that it is driven by "local" search engines.