ACM analytics metrics

Grasp the metrics and indicators featured in the ACM analytics to effectively interpret the data.

The vendor count is estimated

The vendor count is approximated due to the fact that not every request or tracker host/domain can be directly matched to a specific vendor. When a match isn't found, the initiating host (domain) itself is classified as a vendor.

This count should be regarded as an estimate unless every host has been successfully associated with a vendor, eliminating the presence of unidentified vendors.

Creating or updating custom vendors can influence the accuracy and interpretation of vendor counts within your analytics.

• Creation of a New Custom Vendor: When an unidentified vendor is recognized and subsequently a new custom vendor is established using the initially unattributed host, the manner in which vendors are identified undergoes a change, potentially introducing a bias in the vendor count. Initially counted as an unknown entity, the vendor will later be identified as a distinct, named custom vendor, effectively causing the same entity to be counted twice under different labels.
• Updating an Existing Custom Vendor's Host List: Adding the host value of an unidentified vendor to the host list of an existing custom vendor does not introduce bias, provided the custom vendor was previously identified in the data through other host values. This is because the overall identification of the vendor remains consistent, merely expanding to encompass additional hosts.

Generally, as vendors typically operate across multiple hosts, incorporating new hosts into the records of existing custom vendors tends to decrease the overall count of distinct vendors. This refinement process helps in achieving a more accurate representation of vendor activity by consolidating multiple host identifiers under a single vendor entity.

The counts of trackers and vendors within your analytics represent the unique instances of vendors or trackers identified across all properties, which is to say:

• A vendor that appears across various pages will be tallied as a single entity.
• If a property undergoes multiple scans during the assessment period and the same vendor is identified in these analyses, it will be counted just once.
• When a vendor is found across several of your properties, it is considered a single vendor in the overall count.

This methodology of deduplication is uniformly applied to both vendors and trackers, ensuring that the reported figures reflect distinct instances, thereby providing a clearer, consolidated view of vendor and tracker presence within your digital environment.