Words and terminology

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z +

Account alias

The account alias is a means to cosmetically rename your account. The alias can be used to clarify what is being tracked for example if the tracked site's domain has changed or isn't descriptive enough. Please note that the original account name should always be used when installing the Snoobi tag, not the alias.

Addurl

Addurl is Snoobi's very own parameter, which can be used to alter the URL address that Snoobi saves of any page. The most common usage of the addurl is to separate two pages with identical addresses from another or to include the used in-site search term in the results page's address, which in turn makes in-site engine tracking possible.

Ad identifier

The ad identifier is an extra bit of text that should be added to every advertisement's target address. The identifier won't affect the target page and it enables ad tracking. In Snoobi, the recommended ad identifier is looks like "ad=xxx".

The ad identifier should not be added to integrated AdWords campaigns as Snoobi annexes its own standard identifier to integrations (Snoobi may prompt you click on "fix identifiers" if the identifier is missing for integrated campaigns).

Ad media

An ad media is a free-form way of grouping ads into categories of your choice. An ad media could, for example, be the ad producer/creator (if you wish to compare producers - who does the most successful ads) or the name of the ad campaign (for multi-channel ad campaigns, this enables a holistic view of all ads pertaining to a particular campaign). You can define or change an advertisment's media by editing the ad from Snoobi's advertisement settings.

Ad type

The ad media is the channel where the ad is shown. You can select among a pre chosen list of ad types while creating a new advertisement or by editing the advertisement later.

AdWords

View the AdWords glossary »

Bounce rate

Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who leave a site after only seeing the landing page (i.e. a visit with only one page view). For example, if a search term has a high bounce rate, an interpretation could be that the first page of their visit didn't match what they were looking for. While a high bounce rate is generally negative, there are exceptions where it may desirable. In advertisements, a well-planned landing page may provide the visitor with all that they need.

Conversion

A conversion is the percentage of all visits during which the visitor has been to one or more goal pages. Therefore, conversions are a measure of how well your site is performing and encouraging visitors to take action - the higher the better.

The visitor is considered a conversion when they have been to the first of the goal pages during the ongoing visit. If a visitor goes to several goal pages during one and the same visit, this is still considered one conversion.

Conversion percent

Conversion percent measures the share of visits that have lead to a goal page. The conversion percentage is counted from the first visited goal page - if a person visits several goal pages during one visit, the percent will not increase with each additional goal.

number of conversions = conversion percent
number of visitors

Example: If the conversion percent is 45.14 %, this means that 45.14 % of all visitors during the chosen time interval have visited at least one goal page.

Corporate View

The Corporate View is a type of report that spans several websites and gives a general overview over the development of their most common key performance indicators. The Corporate View is intended for Snoobi users that need to compare and follow the development trends of several Snoobi accounts. For users with access to only one Snoobi account, KPI reports are a more apt choice.

Cost per conversion

The cost per conversion measures the ratio between online advertisement costs and visits to goal pages. The cost can only be counted if you've defined a price for at least one goal page. (Also the advertisement must have been configured into Snoobi.) The cost of integrated Google AdWords campaigns are counted from the actual click costs. Cost per conversion is counted as follows:

money spent on advertising = cost per conversion
number of converted visits

CTR or Click-Trough-Rate

The Click-through rate is the percentage of visitors who were exposed to an advertisement and who also clicked on the advertisement. The relative effectiveness of the advertisement is counted as follows: the percentage of total impressions = clicks / impressions.

Entry method

The entry method shows which channels have been used in order to arrive to the website. Different entry methods channels are search engines, online directories, advertisements, social media, referring websites and direct entry (typing URL or bookmark).

If a visitor has made multiple entries to the site during their visits, entry methods enlists only the first (original) entry method for that particular visit. However, panels dedicated to one specific entry method enlist all entries and re-entries during one visit, not just the first entry. This is the reason behind the discrepancy when summing up visits in a particular single entry panel and comparing the sum with the entry methods graph.

Fix identifiers

The technical requirement for tracking online advertisements is the presence of an ad identifier in the advertisement's target address. If Snoobi detects that the required ad identifier is lacking from an AdWords ad, Snoobi prompts you to fix the identifiers in order to resume their tracking. In practice, fixing an identifier annexes an extra parameter into the ad's target address, which is interpreted as a new ad in Google. The "fix identifiers" requests only appear in integrated AdWords campaigns; Snoobi cannot detect missing ad identifiers for non-integrated advertisements.

Goal page

A goal page is an important target page or target function that measures the conversion power of your advertisements, links and website. A goal represents a function or action that visitors should ideally perform by clicking a link or sending a form. Common goals include confirming an order, making a reservation, requesting contact through a form, downloading a brochure or price list, ordering a newsletter or recommending a page to a friend.

Goal pages can be created and edited through Snoobi's settings. Don't mark any ordinary first level page as goal, or any page that works as landing page for ads - this will distort conversion numbers.

Identifier

Identifier is a term that is used in just about all of Snoobi's settings to describe a part of the URL address or search term that is being configured. Depending on the setting, the identifier is either the unique part of the address/work (pages, goal pages) or a common denominator for many addresses/words (goals, search term groups). Identifiers can be restricted or expanded by using procent signs.

Impression

An impression is registered when an advertisement is displayed on the user's screen. Contrary to visits or clicks, an impression is counted even if the user does not click on the ad link. In Google AdWords, the ratio between impressions and clicks affects your advertisements quality score, which is Google's estimation of the ad's relevancy.

ISP or Operator

Operators are Internet Service providers, who provide visitors with the Internet connection needed for accessing the web. In Snoobi, you can easily hide ISPs from the results, which is especially important in B2B lead lists. ISPs cannot be used as leads because it is not possible to determine who made the visit.

KPI report

The KPI report is one of several different report types in Snoobi. It shows the development of virtually any metric on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. The KPI report offers a good way of comparing the progress of a metric.

Landing page

A landing page is the first page of a visit; the first impression for the visitor. In some cases the website owner can affect the landing page (ads and some links). In other cases the landing page is determined by search engine algorithms, which can be affected by search engine optimization.

Landing page report

The landing page looks like the Main report but the data is different; landing page reports are dedicated to showing only visits that started from the page in question. The landing page report is a tool for optimizing - how are visitors finding a particular page and can we enhance its visibility?

Max CPC

Max CPC or maximum Cost-Per-Click is the charging criterion used in click-based advertising such as Google AdWords. Max CPC is the highest bid that you are willing to pay for one ad click (a visitor that arrives through the ad). Max CPC is not necessarily the final price for the click. Depending on the competing advertisers, you may end up paying less than you are willing to offer.

Metric

A metric is a value or attribute that can be measured with the use of web analytics. Virtually all results generated by web analytics can be referred to as metrics, such as visitor numbers and conversions. Particularly important metrics are called key performance indicators, which are ideal for evaluating the success of a particular measure.

Migration (AdWords integration)

AdWords migrations are only required once, after upgrading from the old Snoobi to version 3. Non intergrated AdWords advertisements don't need a migration. The migration is needed because the ad's identifier must be changed to accommodate the new ad tracking model, read more here »

MiniSnoobi

MiniSnoobi is a condensed free version of the Snoobi report, which is available to our clients that no longer have an active customership. Mini Snoobi provides limited general data from the Main report, such as visitor numbers and entry methods, but features such as leads, visitor routes and new custom reports are no longer provided.

Monetary value

The monetary value is based on which price has been configured for various goals. The monetary value is an estimate of the profit generated by all visits that have included goal pages. The monetary value is empty if no price has been set in the goal page settings.

When talking about monetary value, Snoobi takes all goal pages into account and sums them up. Hence monetary value works in a different manner to conversions and conversion percents; only the monetary value grows for each goal page that the visitor goes to.

Formula: ∑ (goal value x conversions)

Example: If the visitor first enters a goal page, which has a price/value of 10 € and then during the same visit enters another goal page, which has the price/value of 20 €, the reported monetary value will be 30 €.

My report / My reports

Read about My reports »

Organization type

Organization type is a pre-existing categorization that helps you to exclude the wrong types of visitors from the results. This is especially important in lead generation. Snoobi has categorized organizations into four groups 1) Companies, the category best suited for lead generation. 2) Schools (colleges, campus areas, universities), 3) Government (hospitals, municipalities, military) and finally 4) ISPs. If you come across incorrect organization types, you have the option to redefine the type.

The reason why organizations that are considered as ISPs, schools or government are usually excluded from leads lists is the impossibility to track down their end user. In the case of ISPs, they may be companies who have not registered the internet connection under their own name. In case of schools or government, it cannot be distinguished whether the visit was made by a school/government employee or if the visit was made by one of their clients or students.

Page view

A page view (or page load) refers to the opening or loading of a single page in the user's Internet browser. Every link within the website that is clicked by the visitor will register as a page view in Snoobi, including file and image links (assuming that the Snoobi tag has been installed on the linking page).

A page view is different from clicks (used in Google AdWords) because a click is counted even if the target page does not load (e.g. the visitor presses the "back" button, or any other link, fast).

Page views / visit

Page views / visit is an indicator of the quality of the visitors; how many pages the visitor browsed through during one visit. Plain visitor numbers does not reveal all the necessary information about the visitors. Was the site relevant for the needs of the visitor? What is the proportion of visitors who leave the site after a click or two, because the content of the site was not what they were looking for?

Page views / visit gives an average for how effectively the primary target group is able to find the site. However, always put the number in perspective with the size/scope of the site (a small site has a limited number of viewable pages).

Generally speaking, a low page views / visit means that the visitors have not been satisfied with the content of the site, and as a result have left the site relatively quickly. Alternatively, a low page views/ visit count could mean that visitors immediately find what they are looking for (this is hopefully the case with ads and search terms).

A high page views / visit is often a sign of quality visitors coming to the site. These visitors have probably found the content of the site to be relevant and useful. Conversely, it can also be a sign of poor site design or poor choice of target page, resulting in needlessly long endeavors to find whatever the visitor is looking for.

Panel

In Snoobi, the tables that contain the tracking data are referred to as panels.

Rating or Visitor rating

Visitor ratings are essentially filters that let you define which kinds of visits are hidden or shown in the Target Group Report. With ratings, you can set conditions that the visit must meet in order to qualify or disqualify (e.g. the visitor must have visited at least 5 pages in section X). The disqualification is important, as it makes it possible to exclude visitors that aren't of a certain kind or don't perform a particular action (e.g. hide all visits that arrived from an ad and visited goal page X).

Real-time reporting

Real-time report updates are enabled on all accounts by default. The real-time reporting makes the report fetch brand new data as often as possible. The downside of real-time reporting is that it may slow down the loading time for the panels. If you only access Snoobi once a day and do effectively not need a constant flow of new data, we recommend switching real-time reporting off. When not on, the data updates occur approx. every 24 hours.

Search term optimization

View the definition for search term optimization »

Section

A section is a group of pages that allows you to lump together pages that somehow relate together and analyze them as one unit. Different language versions and product categories make good sections. Create or edit sections from Snoobi's settings.

Target Group Report

The Target Group Report is one of Snoobi's various views, where you can search and combine metrics from several reports in order to find visits that match a certain criteria. For example, you can do a search that looks only for such visitors that have arrived through a precise channel, performed a certain action on the site, stem from a certain country and used a mobile device while surfing.

Target page

A target page is the page or address that a link will take you to. The link may be located inside an ad, on the results page of a search engine or on some other site.

Time interval

The time interval is the time frame selection in Snoobi, which defines which dates' data will be displayed. The time interval is must be a unbroken stretch of time (weekends or certain days can't be skipped over), although the Corporate View lets you compare two separate time intervals against each other.

Unknown entry method

The unknown entry method will appear when Snoobi cannot distinguish which channel the visitor has used in order to arrive to the website. The recognition is inhibited if the visit's first entry page does not have the Snoobi tag installed or if its domain is not included in the tracking. Usually the Snoobi tag can be found missing from the front page, from redirect pages or from confirmation pages that appear after form submits.

User privileges, user rights

In Snoobi, you can choose between different levels and scopes of users names. Just about all users possess a user level that allows them to open and read all Standard reports. "Administrators", who are a step higher, can additionally edit the settings of any Standard report. Permission to edit integrated AdWords reports is a separate function and can be defined from the AdWords settings. Custom reports work differently, as there the creator of a custom report can control the read-only or read+edit privileges for each custom report individually.

Visit

A visit is a more technical term that measures the number of times your website has been viewed. Visits are directly connected to the length of the browser session; the duration of a Snoobi session is 30 minutes. If the visitor makes no new page views to the site for 30 minutes, the visit ends.

If a particular visitor returns to the website after this 30 minute window has passed, it will register a new visit. The maximum length of a visit is 12 hours, if a visitor continues surfing after this, the exceeding page views will form a new visit. A single visitor/user may have multiple visits during a day, hour or other time frame.

The proportion of passive surfing time cannot be determined from the length or amount of visits (the user may have had the window opened up in the background while he was doing something else).

Image 1. The difference between a visitor and a visit

Visitor

A visitor refers to the amount of unique visitors that have been on the website. The visitor count is primarily based on cookies, which the Snoobi software installs into the visitor's Internet browser(s) (one cookie for each browser). Cookies make it possible to distinguish between new and returning visitor to the site. If several people use the same browser to browse the Internet, they will all be considered as one visitor. Conversely, if one and the same person first views the site with one browser (or computer) and then switches to another, he/she is counted as two separate visitors. If a visitor removes Snoobi's cookie mid-surfing, the visitor will be counted as a new visitor (as opposed to a returning visitor) on their next page load.

Unique visitors rule out hits that have come from search engine robots or proxy servers. This prevents the visitor numbers from being exaggerated.

A secondary method of visitor recognition is based on IP addresses, browser information and the combination thereof. This secondary method is used in cases where the visitor has disabled cookies from his/her browser. Using solely IP addresses is not reliable enough because IP addresses are like houses: many people can share the same house/address.

Note! The visits made by one's own company staff show up in your own Snoobi report. To counter this, you can filter away IP address by adding an IP filter!

Visit length (time on site)

The average duration of a visit. The timing of a visit's length begins when the visitor makes their first page load (enters the site) and ends with the last page load on the site. The visit length cannot separate active and passive surfing time, so also a visit to the fridge will count towards the total time. It is not possible to measure the time spent on the very last viewed page.

Visits by new visitor / New visitors

New visitors measures how many visitors are first-timers, when the selected time interval is compared with any previous time interval. In practice, this means that chosen time interval is compared to all other days that have not been included in the current time selection. If the "all time" interval is used, the new visitors count would naturally show 100% as there is no point of comparison left.

The total number of new visitors may appear disproportionately large if many visitors are in the habit of regularly emptying their cookies. Each time an old visitor returns after deleting a cookie left by Snoobi, they will be counted as a new visitor.

Visits by returning visitor / Returning visitors

Returning visitors measures the amount of times the site is revisited by old visitors, each returning visit is counted. The return rate is compared to the "all time" time interval, essentially all visits made outside of the chosen time interval.

Web analytics

View the definition for web analytics »

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Sometimes three dashes may appear among the search terms. This means "unknown search term"; Snoobi has been unable to distinguish which search term was used but the entry method was successfully identified as a search engine. Often the unknown search term is caused either by Google Images or Google Custom searches.