What are clicks?

Clicks count how many times someone interacted with an ad, as reported by the ad platform. Depending on the platform and campaign type this can mean link clicks only, or any interaction — expanding an image, clicking the page name, unmuting a video — so the same word covers slightly different events on different channels.

Formula

clicks = Σ platform-reported clicks over the selected period

Worked example

A channel reports 12,000 clicks in a month; your site analytics shows 9,500 sessions from that channel. The gap is normal: accidental taps, users who bounce before the page loads, in-app browsers that block measurement. Treat platform clicks as the platform's count of interactions, not as arrivals on your site.

How Saldo Metrics computes it

fact_ad_performance stores the platform's reported clicks per creative per day. v_ad_spend_enriched attaches the dimensions, v_channel_performance sums per channel per day, and the Marketing → Overview KPI (totalClicks) adds those rows across the selected period. The same daily rows feed CTR (clicks ÷ impressions) and CPC (spend ÷ clicks), so the three figures always agree with each other.

Why it matters

Clicks are the middle of the funnel: impressions show ads were served, clicks show someone acted, conversions show it was worth it. Click volume is the base for both CTR and CPC, and a click trend that diverges from its impression trend is usually the first sign a creative or audience has changed behaviour.

Common mistakes

• Equating clicks with sessions. Platform clicks routinely run 10–30% above site sessions for the reasons above. Neither number is wrong; they measure different events at different points.
• Comparing raw click counts between channels with different click definitions. A platform counting all engagements reports more clicks than one counting link clicks only, at identical real interest.
• Optimizing for clicks when the goal is purchases. Cheap clicks from curiosity audiences inflate volume without adding margin — check conversion rate and true ROAS behind any click trend.

Where you see this in the app

Marketing → Overview, as the Clicks KPI, in the channel summary and in the campaign table.