Analytics terms, in plain language.
Definitions written for marketing and data leaders. Short. Opinionated. Honest about what matters and what doesn't.
Technology
Cookieless Analytics
Web analytics that captures visitor data without using browser cookies, enabling 100% traffic measurement regardless of consent status or browser restrictions.
First-Party Data Collection
Collecting analytics data through your own domain infrastructure rather than third-party servers. First-party requests are invisible to ad blockers and not subject to third-party cookie restrictions.
Server-Side Tracking
Data collection method where events are processed on the server rather than in the browser. Avoids client-side blocking by ad blockers and browser privacy features.
Event Tracking
The method of recording specific user interactions on a website beyond pageviews — clicks, form submissions, video plays, downloads, and eCommerce actions. GA4 uses an event-based data model where every interaction is an event.
Data Quality
Data Sampling
A technique where analytics tools analyze a subset of data and extrapolate results. GA4 applies sampling when traffic exceeds certain thresholds, introducing estimation error.
Data Loss in Analytics
The gap between actual website traffic and what analytics tools report. Caused by consent rejection, ad blockers, browser restrictions, and data sampling. Typically 70-87% in the EU.
Ad Blocker Impact on Analytics
The data loss caused by browser extensions and built-in features that block third-party analytics scripts. Ad blockers affect 40%+ of EU users, making analytics tools like GA4 blind to a significant portion of traffic.
Privacy
Consent Management Platform (CMP)
Software that displays cookie consent banners and manages user preferences. Required under GDPR for websites using cookies or collecting personal data. Typical EU rejection rates: 35%.
Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP)
Apple Safari's privacy feature that limits cookie lifespan and blocks cross-site tracking. ITP reduces first-party cookie life to 7 days (or 24 hours for some) and blocks all third-party cookies.
GDPR Analytics Compliance
Meeting GDPR requirements for web analytics: lawful basis for processing, data minimization, purpose limitation, and — if using cookies — valid consent collection before tracking.
Analytics Data Residency
The geographic location where analytics data is processed and stored. Under GDPR, data residency determines which legal frameworks apply and whether cross-border data transfer mechanisms (like SCCs) are required.
Google Consent Mode v2
Google's framework that allows Analytics and Ads tags to load without storing cookies when the user has rejected consent — then statistically models the missing data. It is a modelling layer, not a measurement layer.
ePrivacy Directive
EU Directive 2002/58/EC governing privacy in electronic communications, including the rule (Art. 5(3)) that consent is required before storing or accessing information on a user's terminal device. The legal basis for cookie consent banners.
Legitimate Interest (Analytics)
GDPR Article 6(1)(f) lawful basis: processing personal data is permitted when a controller has a legitimate purpose that does not override the data subject's rights. Sometimes invoked for analytics — but ePrivacy still requires consent for cookies.
Attribution
Multi-Touch Attribution
An analytics model that distributes conversion credit across multiple touchpoints observed for the same identified visitor. Requires per-user tracking and is not part of SealMetrics' last-click, anonymous architecture.
Revenue Attribution
Connecting revenue events (purchases, subscriptions) to the marketing channels that drove them. SealMetrics uses last-click on 100% of observed events — no per-user journey tracking, no multi-touch models.
Attribution Model
A rule or algorithm that determines how credit for conversions is distributed across marketing touchpoints. Common models include first-touch, last-touch, linear, time-decay, and data-driven attribution.
Attribution Window
The time period after a marketing touchpoint during which a subsequent conversion is credited to that touchpoint. Windows vary by channel — Google Ads default is 30 days, Meta is 7 days, GA4 is 30/90 days depending on model.
Last-Click Attribution
An attribution model where 100% of the conversion credit goes to the final marketing touchpoint observed before the conversion event. SealMetrics applies last-click on 100% of data — aggregate, anonymous, at channel level.
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