Quick answer
A metric is a quantitative measure of something over a defined period, such as visitors, sign-ups, conversion rate or average order value. A KPI is a metric chosen to track a specific goal; a dimension is an attribute, such as country or page, that splits a metric.
What is a metric?
A metric is a number that measures something over a defined period: visitors this week, sign-ups this month, conversion rate yesterday. It needs three things to mean anything: what is counted, who is included and over what time.
Metric, KPI and dimension
| Term | What it is | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Metric | A number you count or calculate | Pageviews, sessions, revenue, conversion rate |
| KPI | A metric chosen to track a goal, with a target | "Trial-to-paid rate above 15% this quarter" |
| Dimension | A label that splits a metric | Country, device, channel, landing page |
A report usually combines them: conversion rate (metric) by channel (dimension), compared with the target (KPI).
The four shapes a metric takes
| Shape | Sample | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Count | 5,000 visitors | Grows with traffic; compare like with like |
| Rate or ratio | 160 sign-ups ÷ 5,000 visitors = 3.2% | Check the denominator: visitors, sessions or users? |
| Average | Average order value $64 | A few large orders pull it up |
| Percentile | P75 page load 2.4 s | Needs enough samples to be stable |
Five questions to ask of any metric
- How exactly is it defined? "Users" can mean visitors, devices or logged-in people.
- What decision does it change? If none, it is a vanity metric (actionable metrics).
- Does it lead or lag? Leading metrics move first (leading vs lagging indicators).
- Can the team move it?
- Is the change real? Small numbers swing; check the counts behind a rate.
A longer list of the metrics most teams use is in analytics metrics. The one metric chosen to represent customer value is the north star metric.
See also
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Data Analyst
Explores traffic sources, conversion funnels, and retention, using clear metric definitions and concrete examples to explain what the numbers mean.