Analytics words in everyday language
You do not need to memorize these words. Look up the one you need, then return to your task.
2 min readPlain-language reference
People and visits
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Visitor | A person or browser recognized by the reporting system. The same person may appear separately across devices. |
| Pageview | One recorded opening of a page. A visitor can create several pageviews. |
| Source | Where a recorded visit came from, such as a newsletter or search engine. |
| Channel | A broader group of sources, such as paid ads or organic search. |
| Direct | A visit without another recognized source under the reporting rules. |
| Conversion | A chosen action, such as signing up or paying. Check which action the report measures. |
| Conversion rate | The share of the relevant starting group that completed the chosen action. |
Money and decisions
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Revenue | Money recorded from payments under the report's definition. It is not necessarily a payout or profit. |
| Attributed revenue | Revenue credited to a source or other item using a reporting rule. |
| Revenue per visitor | Recorded or attributed revenue divided by the relevant visitor count. |
| ROAS | Return on ad spend: revenue credited to ads divided by their cost. |
| Attribution | A rule for sharing credit for a recorded sale. |
| Funnel | A sequence of steps you want people to complete. |
| Forecast | An estimate about a future result, based on assumptions. |
Campaigns and connections
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| UTM parameters | Labels added to a link to identify its source and campaign. |
| Tracking script | A small piece of code that sends website activity to a reporting system. |
| Crawler | Software that requests pages. A request is not proof that a page appeared in an AI answer. |
| AI referral | A recorded visit with an identifiable AI service as its source. |
| Webhook | An automatic message one service sends another when something happens, such as a payment. |
| API | A defined way for software to request or send information. |
| MCP | A protocol that can connect compatible AI assistants to supported tools and data. |
| CLI | A tool used by typing commands in a terminal. |
Still need a hand?
Send a question without needing to sign in.