Analytics
Good decisions start with knowing exactly what each number means. This page defines SparkleTree’s metrics first, then tours the dashboards, then covers how to read them without fooling yourself.
Metric definitions
Section titled “Metric definitions”These definitions apply everywhere in the product.
- Impressions — the raw delivery count: one per ad load. If a visitor reloads the page five times, that’s five impressions. Reload inflation is real, and it’s the industry-standard way to count.
- Reach — distinct sessions that saw the campaign. A session is per-tab and cleared when the tab closes. Reach answers “how many separate visits saw this?”
- CTR (raw) — clicks divided by impressions. Inherits impression inflation: heavy reloading pushes raw CTR down without anything changing for real visitors.
- CTR (sessions) — of sessions reached, how many clicked. Because both sides count sessions, reloads can’t inflate or deflate it. This is the number to trust when comparing creatives.
- Conversion rate — conversions divided by clicks.
- Engagement rate — clicks, product views, and add-to-carts, divided by impressions.
Dwell time and QR taps are engagement telemetry. They show up in engagement views but are excluded from CTR math — a long look or a scan is not a click.
The dashboards
Section titled “The dashboards”Analytics
Section titled “Analytics”Dashboard → Analytics is the main view. Six tiles sit at the top: Impressions, Reach, Engagement, Conversions, Revenue, and Sessions.
The Overview tab charts impressions, clicks, conversions, and revenue over time, with a configurable engagement panel (CTR, Conversion Rate, Engagement Rate) and a device breakdown. Separate tabs cover the audience funnel and dimensional breakdowns. The page live-updates — you don’t need to refresh.
Dashboard → CVG shows variant performance and winner detection — this is where Adaptive selection shows its work. SparkleTree learns which variant performs and shows winners more often; the CVG dashboard lets you see which variant is winning, by how much, and on what evidence, so the system’s choices are never a black box.
Dashboard → Live is the real-time activity feed: deliveries, clicks, and conversions as they happen. Useful in the first hours after a launch or a screen deployment, when you want confirmation that traffic is flowing.
Reports
Section titled “Reports”Dashboard → Reports is for exports — take the data out when you need it in a deck or a spreadsheet.
How to read the numbers honestly
Section titled “How to read the numbers honestly”Compare variants on CTR (sessions), not raw CTR. Two variants can serve on pages with very different reload behavior — a kiosk that refreshes on a timer versus a product page people visit once. Raw CTR punishes the kiosk unfairly. CTR (sessions) asks the same question of both: of the visits that saw it, how many acted?
Give new variants time. A variant with 40 impressions and one click is not a 2.5% performer; it’s a coin that’s been flipped a few times. Adaptive CVG keeps exploring precisely because early numbers are noisy. Resist retiring a variant in its first days unless the gap is dramatic and sustained. See Tips and tricks for more on when to trust Adaptive CVG.
Expect Impressions and Reach to diverge. A high Impressions-to-Reach ratio isn’t a problem to fix — it usually just means surfaces that reload, like screens. It’s a reason to prefer session-based rates when you evaluate creative.
Treat engagement telemetry as color, not verdict. Dwell time and QR taps tell you people lingered or bridged to their phone. That’s valuable context, but it doesn’t move CTR, and it shouldn’t override click and conversion evidence when you decide what to keep.
Follow the funnel before judging a step. A low conversion rate with a healthy CTR points at what happens after the click, not at the creative. The funnel tab shows where sessions drop off; fix the step that’s actually leaking.
For what the variants themselves can do, see Capabilities and use cases.