Click popularity sorting algorithms are based on the principle that by tracking how many users click online, and how long they stay on a website. By using this method they are allowing users rather than the search engines to organise results.

Click popularity is measured by calculating the number of clicks each website receives from a search engines results page. Stickiness measurement works by recording the amount of time a user spends at each website that they click through to from a search engine result. The time is calculated by measuring the time that elapses between each of the user's clicks on the search engine results page.