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Glossary

A comprehensive reference of all terms used throughout Sealmetrics documentation. For detailed metric formulas and benchmarks, see the Metrics Reference.

A​

Aggregated Data​

Data that is summarized so it cannot be linked back to any individual. Sealmetrics processes pageviews ("hits") independently without reconstructing user profiles.

API (Application Programming Interface)​

A programmatic interface for extracting analytics data, automating workflows, or integrating Sealmetrics with external tools. See the API documentation.

Attribution​

The method used to assign a conversion to a traffic source. Sealmetrics uses last-click attribution, the only model fully compatible with consentless analytics.

Average Order Value (AOV)​

The average revenue per conversion. Calculated as Total Revenue divided by Number of Conversions. See Metrics Reference.

B​

Batch API​

A way to execute multiple analytics queries in a single HTTP request, reducing latency and simplifying integrations. See the Batch API guide.

Bounce Rate​

The percentage of sessions where the visitor viewed only one page and then left. A lower bounce rate generally indicates better engagement. See Metrics Reference.

Browser​

The web browser used to access your site (e.g., Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge). Reported under the Devices report.

C​

CCPA​

California Consumer Privacy Act -- regulates collection of personal data in California. Sealmetrics stores nothing on the device and no data that identifies anyone, and its session identifier rotates daily and cannot be reconstructed afterwards; see the compliance self-assessments.

Channel​

A classification of traffic into high-level groups such as Organic Search, Paid Search, Social, Direct, Email, and Referral. Channels are derived automatically from UTM parameters and referrer data. See Sources report.

CNIL / AEPD​

French and Spanish data protection authorities whose guidelines define how analytics can operate without consent. Sealmetrics follows both strictly. See Compliance.

Google's mechanism for restricting tracking based on user consent status. Sealmetrics does not use Consent Mode and must not be blocked by consent banners.

Content Group​

A user-defined label assigned to pages so you can analyze sections of your site as a group (e.g., "Blog", "Products", "Checkout"). See Content Grouping guide.

Content Grouping​

The practice of assigning labels to pages to analyze site sections as groups. Configured via the tracker or the Sealmetrics dashboard. See Content Grouping guide.

Conversion​

A completed goal event such as a purchase, signup, or lead form submission, tracked with sealmetrics.conv(). See Metrics Reference.

Conversion Rate​

The percentage of sessions that resulted in at least one conversion. Calculated as Sessions with Conversions divided by Total Sessions, multiplied by 100. See Metrics Reference.

Cookieless Tracking​

Analytics without cookies, stored fingerprints, or persistent identifiers. Sealmetrics measures hits, grouped only within a session by an identifier re-keyed every day, and nothing it stores can link a device across days. See Consentless Analytics FAQ.

Cookies​

Small files stored on a user's device to identify them across sessions. Sealmetrics uses zero cookies.

Cost per Acquisition (CPA)​

The average cost to acquire one conversion. Calculated as Total Ad Spend divided by Total Conversions. Requires external cost data import.

D​

Data Minimization​

The principle of collecting only what is strictly necessary. Sealmetrics collects minimal data per hit: timestamp, URL, and referrer.

Delta​

The percentage change between the current period and the comparison period. Shown as a positive or negative value with color coding (green for improvement, red for decline). See Metrics Reference.

Device Type​

The category of device used to access your site: Desktop, Mobile, or Tablet. See the Devices report.

Direct Traffic​

Visits with no referrer or UTM parameters, typically from users typing the URL directly or using bookmarks. Shown as (direct) / (none) in source reports.

Drop-off Rate​

In a funnel, the percentage of users who left at a specific step without proceeding further. See Funnel report.

E​

E-commerce Tracking​

Collection of revenue, transactions, and purchase events. Sealmetrics supports full e-commerce analytics without cookies. See E-commerce Conversion Tracking.

Engaged Entrances​

Sessions where the visitor viewed more than one page (two or more pageviews). A measure of traffic quality. See Metrics Reference.

Engagement Rate​

The percentage of sessions where visitors viewed more than one page. The inverse of Bounce Rate (Engagement Rate + Bounce Rate = 100%). See Metrics Reference.

Entrances​

The number of sessions (visits) that started during the selected period. Each new session (after ~2 hours of inactivity) counts as one entrance. See Metrics Reference.

Event Tracking​

Capturing specific user actions such as clicks, form submissions, scroll depth, or video plays. See Microconversions guide.

F​

Fingerprinting​

Identifying a user through a combination of device attributes (screen size, fonts, plugins, etc.). Sealmetrics computes a hash of standard device characteristics in the browser to group hits within a session, but it never stores a persistent fingerprint: the hash is never written to the device, is re-keyed on the server with a daily salt that is destroyed on rotation, and is never stored as sent, so no device can be linked across days. See What We Track.

First-Party Tracker​

A tracker running under your own domain (e.g., analytics.yourdomain.com) to avoid browser restrictions and ad blockers. See Tracking Methods.

Funnel​

A defined sequence of steps a user is expected to follow (e.g., Product Page, Add to Cart, Checkout, Purchase). See Funnel report.

Funnel Completion Rate​

The percentage of users who completed all steps in a funnel, from first step to last. See Metrics Reference.

G​

GDPR​

General Data Protection Regulation -- the EU regulation governing the processing of personal data. Sealmetrics processes only minimal, pseudonymised data — a session identifier that rotates daily and is unrecoverable after rotation — under legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f)); reports are aggregated. This is Sealmetrics' self-assessment.

H​

Hit​

A single interaction recorded by Sealmetrics: a pageview, event, or conversion. Sealmetrics is a hit-based system, meaning each interaction is recorded independently.

I​

Isolated Hits Tracking​

A tracking method where each hit is recorded independently with no link between visits. This is the core of Sealmetrics' privacy-first design. See Consentless Analytics FAQ.

L​

Landing Page​

The first page a user views when starting a session. Analyzing landing page performance helps optimize first impressions and reduce bounce rates. See the Pages report.

LENS​

Sealmetrics' AI-powered analytics insights engine. LENS analyzes your data and surfaces anomalies, trends, and actionable recommendations automatically. See LENS documentation.

M​

Microconversion​

A small user interaction tracked as an event, such as scroll depth reached, button clicks, form starts, add-to-cart actions, or video plays. Tracked with sealmetrics.micro(). Useful for measuring funnel progression before a full conversion. See Microconversions guide.

O​

Operating System​

The operating system of the visitor's device (e.g., Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux). Reported under the Devices report.

Organization​

The top-level entity in Sealmetrics that contains Sites and Members. Organizations provide multi-user access control with roles (Owner, Admin, Member). See Organizations API.

P​

Page Path​

The URL path of a page, excluding the domain. For example, for https://example.com/products/widget, the path is /products/widget.

Page Title​

The HTML title of a page, taken from the <title> tag at the time of the pageview.

Pageviews​

The total number of pages viewed during the selected period. Each page load (including refreshes) counts as one pageview. See Metrics Reference.

Pages per Session​

The average number of pages viewed per session. Calculated as Total Pageviews divided by Total Entrances. See Metrics Reference.

PECR​

UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations -- restricts the use of cookies and similar technologies. Sealmetrics stores nothing on user devices; its reading of standard browser properties to compute the session identifier is assessed against the PECR exemption criteria in the UK PECR self-assessment.

Personal Data​

Any information that can identify an individual, directly or indirectly; pseudonymised data still counts. Sealmetrics stores no IP and nothing on the device; its only per-visitor value is a session pseudonym that rotates daily and cannot be reconstructed afterwards.

Privacy by Design​

The principle of building systems that inherently protect user privacy from the ground up, rather than adding protections as an afterthought. Sealmetrics follows this approach fully.

R​

Referrer​

The domain of the website that linked to your site, detected from the HTTP Referer header. Used for source attribution when no UTM parameters are present.

Revenue​

The total monetary value from conversions during the selected period, derived from the amount passed to sealmetrics.conv(). See Metrics Reference.

Revenue per Entrance​

The average revenue generated per session. Calculated as Total Revenue divided by Total Entrances. See Metrics Reference.

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)​

Revenue generated per unit of advertising spend. A ROAS above 1.0 means revenue exceeds cost. Requires external cost data import. See Metrics Reference.

S​

Session​

A group of interactions within a period of activity. In Sealmetrics, a new session starts after ~2 hours of inactivity. Sealmetrics uses session-level aggregation for metrics like Bounce Rate while keeping the tracking itself consentless.

Session-ID Tracking​

A temporary identifier used to group the pageviews of a single session. In Sealmetrics it is a hash of standard device characteristics computed in the browser, never written to the device, and re-keyed on the server every day with a salt destroyed on rotation, so it is not persistent and cannot be linked across days. See What We Track.

Site​

A website being tracked by Sealmetrics. Each Site has a unique Site ID used in the tracking code. Sites belong to an Organization. See Sites API.

Source-ID Technology​

Sealmetrics technology that allows assigning conversions to traffic sources without identifying individual users.

Step Completion Rate​

In a funnel, the percentage of users who completed a step relative to the number who entered that step from the previous one. See Funnel report.

U​

Unique Visitors​

Not a Sealmetrics metric. Counting unique visitors requires a persistent per-user identifier (cookie, fingerprint, or hash), which would be personal data under GDPR — Sealmetrics deliberately does not carry any identifier across sessions. Use Entrances as the audience-size signal instead. See Metrics Reference.

UTM Parameters​

Standard URL parameters (utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_term, utm_content) used to tag marketing links and identify traffic sources. Fully supported by Sealmetrics without cookies. See Sources report.

Written and maintained by the Sealmetrics Team