Small group workshops to help you learn, optimize, and grow.
.svg){kind=logo}
If you’re running a business on Amazon, you’re going to be looking through a ton of sales and marketing data. You'll look through metrics, stats, and KPIs to see how things are going.
These naturally get confusing from time to time, and certain metrics seem similar - or almost identical - and discrepancies between them can confuse things even further.
One of the most common sets of KPIs that get confused are clicks and sessions. Both are important, and both essentially describe a potential customer viewing your product.
So what is the difference and why does it matter?
Both clicks and sessions are basic indicators of visitor activity, and when you’re looking at a spreadsheet much of the time they can seem like the same thing, but the fine line between them has big implications and makes them really two completely separate metrics.
A click is pretty much what it says on the tin - the most basic measure of user traffic that simply tells you someone went onto your page through your ad or asset. When a user clicks on an ad, or clicks through on a product listing on the search results page, it counts as a single click. You can have multiple clicks in a short period of time - if you click on a product page, leave, and then come back, for example - but that does not necessarily mean you have multiple sessions.
A session can be described as a set of interactions that happen within a set period of time on a site by a unique user. So if you are browsing Amazon for a new raincoat, for example, and open up multiple tabs to look at several competing options, it would count as a single user session even though that would translate to multiple clicks across multiple products.
User sessions typically end either through time-defined expiry limits or a change of campaign - that is to say, if, for example, you come in through one campaign, leave, and then come back in through another.
There are a number of reasons why the two metrics can diverge - most of the time with clicks far outnumbering sessions - when you look at them side by side, for example:
The distinction is also important because, for most advertising campaigns on Amazon, your ad spend is based on a pay-per-click model, meaning you will pay for the clicks, but it does not necessarily mean that the resulting session will bear fruit or result in a conversion.
Clicks will let you determine how well your ad is doing in terms of pulling people in, and by extension have an effect on your marketing budget and ACoS. While sessions themselves will not affect your ACoS, keeping track of them is essential to determining your conversion rate by comparing them to items sold within a certain period of time.
Ultimately, even though the actual numbers may differ between them for a range of reasons, the most important thing to take note of when you are evaluating them statistically is the trendlines. Simply put, more clicks and more sessions are better than fewer clicks and fewer sessions, but both need to be evaluated in relation to the sales they ultimately generate.
Threecolts is a comprehensive suite of advanced ecommerce software solutions. We're designed to empower retail vendors and marketplace sellers on Amazon, Walmart, and beyond. Our tools optimize every aspect of ecommerce operations to ensure maximum profitability.
For sellers aiming to earn through reselling, Tactical Arbitrage helps you find hidden deals 5X faster. ScoutIQ provides instant insights for scoring in stores. DataSpark helps you get your next bestseller on Walmart Marketplace across over 14 million products in its database.
If you want to sell globally without storing, shipping, or risking money on inventory, SellerRunning simplifies cross-border dropshipping. We let you manage and expand your ecommerce business across multiple Amazon marketplaces seamlessly.
Managing products across leading ecommerce channels has never been easier either. ExportYourStore ensures hassle-free cross-listing and product syncing. Meanwhile, Hemi integrates over 100 ecommerce platforms, handling everything from inventory to logistics.
For efficient financial operations, FeedbackWhiz Profits offers a robust ecommerce accounting solution. We give you total control over your finances. You can track earnings and spending and visualize financial data without much effort.
You can also enhance your customer service with ChannelReply. Centralize marketplace communications through order data alongside support tickets from major marketplaces. Meanwhile, Onsite Support combines AI tools and custom-built help centers to amp up your support capacity. With these two, you can ensure that your customer service team can do more with less work.
Simplify Amazon operations with InventoryLab. It's an all-in-one solution that enhances everything from sourcing to logistics to accounting. We make inventory management and business workflows as streamlined as possible, so you won’t have to think about it.
Protect your profits with our advanced recovery solutions. DimeTyd Amazon helps 1P vendors recover lost revenues from overbilling and inventory discrepancies. DimeTyd Walmart simplifies the process of disputing unacknowledged shipments and organizing deductions. DimeTyd Sellers offers comprehensive monitoring and dispute resolution for Amazon FBA.
Automate your pricing strategies with SmartRepricer. We'll help you stay competitive by adjusting prices automatically based on custom rules. You can make sure that you always win the Buy Box with just a few clicks.
Finally, safeguard your online reputation with our reviews and alerts solutions. FeedbackWhiz Emails lets you handle Amazon review requests with personalized feedback campaigns. CR Feedback offers cost-effective feedback gathering for eBay and Amazon review requests. FeedbackWhiz Alerts keeps you informed with timely notifications on reviews, threats to your listings, and other important events.
