What are the differences between different click metrics in Smartly.io

Different click metrics

Direct Link Clicks is defined as the number of clicks on links to selected destinations or experiences, on or off Facebook-owned properties. It also continues to be the metric used for click optimization and CPC billing, and always uses 1-day click through attribution window.

Link Clicks (formerly Website clicks in Smartly.io) utilizes the same definition as Direct Link Clicks, but it respects the attribution window. Link Clicks only counts the clicks that lead the user to selected destinations or experiences, on or off Facebook-owned properties in your ad. This is usually a more useful metric for news feed link ads because it tells how many users the ad persuaded to visit your website.

Clicks (All) is defined as the total number of clicks on your ad. This may include Direct Link Clicks, as well as Page likes, post comments, or event responses.

Social Clicks is the number of clicks your ad receives when it's shown with social information (ex: "Jane Doe likes this").

Direct Post Engagement is the number of direct post engagement the ad got. For example, if someone first sees the ad, and sees the post organically later and clicks it, it won't be counted towards this metric.

Call To Action Clicks is the number of clicks on the call to action button your ad receives.

App Store Clicks is the number of clicks that go to app store after user clicks your ads.

Deeplink Clicks is the number of clicks that go to app after user clicks your ads.

Website Clicks is the number of clicks that go to a "destination" after the user clicks your ads. Normally it is your landing page URL, but e.g. in Canvas ads, the canvas is the destination.

Outbound Clicks measures the number of clicks leading people off-Facebook owned properties, while link clicks shows clicks to destinations on or off Facebook-owned properties. If you're using an ad format that opens into a full-screen experience, such as collection or Canvas, outbound clicks can provide more insight to the performance of your ads.

You can add these metrics to your views by clicking the 'Customize columns' link and choosing the metrics you need.

How can Clicks (All) sometimes be smaller than Link Clicks?

As a rule of thumb, all Link Clicks are included in Clicks (All), and thus Clicks (All) should (almost) always be larger. However, there can, in fact, be exceptions in some rare cases. Namely, if someone sees your ad and doesn't click it, but then navigates to your ad's destination (i.e. website, app store, etc.) through another link on Facebook within the selected attribution window, we'll register a link click, but not a click. In this case, your ad may have more link clicks than clicks.

The difference between a click and an action?

The clicks metric counts the overall amount of actions taken in your ad as opposed to more specific action metrics that provide very detailed data about what users have done. By default, these metrics use an attribution window of 1 day after the ad being served and 28 days after clicking. In Smartly.io, you can change the attribution window in the time range menu in the top-right corner of your screen, and the default can be modified in settings.

The clicks metric counts the number of clicks in your ad. Facebook doesn't count it as a click when someone clicks on a person's name, a person's profile photo or the feedback/hide button.

Facebook and Smartly.io provide a large variety of more specific action metrics, such as post likes, comments or website clicks. These actions can be used by customizing your reports.