Create a KPI

Tell Needlr what to count: a button click, a page, a form, an event from your site, or a Google Analytics event.

A KPI tells Needlr what to count. You make one in step 2 of a new impact check, Which needle should it move?

Think of a helper with a clicker

You stand a helper at the door of your shop with a clicker. You say: “Click once for every person who buys something.”

The rule has to be exact. “Click for every person who touches a shelf” is a different number. A KPI is that rule, written so Needlr can follow it on every page, for every visitor.

Pick one you have, or make a new one

1. 1Open your project and press + New impact check. Give your change a short name in step 1. Step 2 opens once the name is there.
2. 2In Which needle should it move?, the KPIs you already have show as buttons. Point at one to see what it counts and how often it happened lately. Click it to use it.
3. 3No good fit? Press + New KPI. (In a project with no KPIs yet, the builder is already open.)
4. 4Choose what counts: Click a button, Reach a page or Submit a form. Fill in the box under it. The options are explained below.
5. 5Check the green line. It says the rule in plain words, like: A visitor reaches a page whose path starts with "/thank-you".
6. 6Check the KPI name. Needlr suggests one, like “Reached /thank-you”. Change it to something your team will understand, like “Signup finished”.

Click a button

Counts visitors who click a button or a link. Good for “Book a demo”, “Start free trial”, “Add to cart”.

• Button text starts with: type the start of the button's words, like Book a demo. Every button or link whose words start with that counts, on any page.
• Pick it on my site: the easiest way. Needlr opens your site in a new tab. Click the real button, then Use this. Needlr fills in the text for you and counts clicks only on the page you picked it on. Choose On every page where it appears to count it everywhere.
• If the button has no words, or very long ones, Needlr uses the button's address in the page code instead. The box is then called Button (CSS selector). Use a CSS selector instead switches to it by hand, and pasting a selector switches by itself.
• Picking on your site works after your first Publish to GTM, and only once your website is added on the project's Settings tab. Until then, type the text.

Reach a page

Counts visitors who open a page. Good for a thank-you page, a “signup done” page, or the first page after onboarding.

• Page address starts with: type the part of the address after your domain, like /thank-you.
• “Starts with” means /thank-you also counts /thank-you/team. Use an address only the right people can reach.

Submit a form

Counts visitors who send a form. Good for contact forms, demo requests and signups.

• Form on the page: the address of the page the form is on, like /contact. Any form sent on that page counts.
• Pick the form on my site: Needlr opens your site; click the form, then Use this. Needlr fills in the page for you.

An event from your site (advanced)

If your developer already sends events to Google Tag Manager, press Advanced: my site sends a dataLayer event under the cards. Type the Event name, like purchase. Every time your site sends that event, it counts.

Google Analytics events

These appear only when you measure a change that's already live for everyone (Before vs after), and only if Google Analytics is connected on your project's Settings tab.

• Your Google Analytics key events (like generate_lead) show up next to your KPIs with a small GA4 tag. Click one to use it.
• A Reach a page KPI is then counted by Google Analytics. The line under it says Counted by Google Analytics · history available, results right away. Press Change to count it with Needlr instead.
• If the KPI you picked has no history from before the release, step 3 offers Google Analytics events that do.
• Why not for split tests? Google Analytics doesn't know which visitor saw which version, so it can't compare them.

Needlr won't make copies

If you build a KPI the project already has, Needlr says You already have this KPI and shows its name. Press Use it. One KPI can be used by many impact checks.

When counting starts

When you press Start measuring, Needlr publishes the KPI to your Google Tag Manager, and counting starts. A brand-new KPI has no numbers from before that day.

Common mistakes

• A rule that's too loose. “Starts with Book” also counts “Bookmarks”. Type the full words.
• A page anyone can reach. If people bookmark your thank-you page, every visit counts as a success.
• Renaming the button later. The KPI stops counting. Needlr warns you (KPI health), but it's better to keep the words, or start a new impact check.
• Counting the first step instead of the result. A click on “Pricing” is easy to get. A sent form is what you want (what makes a good KPI).

Button text

The words on the button, like “Book a demo”.

CSS

The button's address inside the page code. Needlr uses it when the button has no words.

dataLayer event

A message your site's code sends to Google Tag Manager, like “purchase”.

Key event

An event you marked as important in Google Analytics, like a lead or a purchase.