Web usage mining by means of multidimensional sequence alignment methods

Abstract

In this article, a new algorithm called Multidimensional Sequence Alignment Method (MDSAM) is illustrated for mining navigation patterns on a web site. MDSAM examines sequences composed of several information types, such as visited pages and visiting time spent on pages. Besides, MDSAM handles large databases and uses heuristics to compute a multidimensional cost based on one-dimensional optimal trajectories. Empirical results show that MDSAM identifies profiles showing visited pages, visiting time spent on pages and the order in which pages are visited on a web site. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2003.