Skip to main content
liftstack
Sign In Start Free Trial

Primary vs secondary metrics

Each campaign has one primary metric that drives the verdict. All other metrics are tracked as secondary (diagnostic) metrics for monitoring purposes.

Pre-registration

The primary metric is chosen when setting up your campaign and cannot be changed once the campaign starts sending. This is a deliberate safeguard called pre-registration. If you could change the metric after seeing results, you might (even unconsciously) switch to whichever metric makes a particular variant look best. Pre-registering the metric keeps the test honest and prevents cherry-picking.

Primary metric

The primary metric determines which variant wins. Your options are:

  • Conversion rate (default): what percentage of recipients took the desired action
  • Click rate: what percentage of recipients clicked a link
  • Open rate: what percentage of recipients opened the email
  • Revenue per exposure: average revenue generated per recipient

Choose the metric closest to your business objective.

Secondary metrics

All non-primary metrics become diagnostics. They are shown in the expandable metrics table but never determine the winner. Secondary metrics help you understand the full picture, such as a variant that wins on revenue but has a slightly lower click rate.

The metrics table

Below each slot’s charts, there is an expandable metrics table showing the raw numbers for every variant:

ColumnWhat It Shows
VariantThe variant name, with badges for “Control” and “Winner”
ExposuresHow many recipients were assigned this variant
OpensHow many opened the email
Open RateOpens / Exposures
ClicksHow many clicked a link
CTRClicks / Exposures
ConversionsHow many completed the desired action
Conv. RateConversions / Exposures
UnsubsHow many unsubscribed
BouncesHow many emails bounced (hard or soft)
ComplaintsHow many recipients marked the email as spam
RevenueTotal revenue attributed to this variant
Rev/ExpRevenue per exposure (average revenue per recipient)

This table is collapsed by default because the verdict card, charts, and uplift callout already tell you everything you need to make a decision.