A KPI's details
Point at a KPI in step 2 to see what it counts, how often it happened lately, where, which impact checks use it, and to see it on your site.
Before you bet an impact check on a KPI, look at it. In step 2, point at any KPI, and a details card shows what it really counts in practice.
Every KPI has a details card. It shows what the KPI counts, how often that happened lately, where, and which impact checks use it. Look at it before you pick a KPI.
Think of a thermometer
Before you trust a thermometer, you check it. Does it show a number at all? Did the number move today? Is it hanging in the right room? The details card does that check for a KPI.
How to open it
- 1Open your project and press + New impact check. Give your change a name in step 1.
- 2In step 2, Which needle should it move?, your saved KPIs show as buttons.
- 3Point at one with the mouse and wait a moment. The card opens. You can also reach it with the Tab key.
- 4Move the mouse onto the card to keep it open. Click the KPI's button to use it.
What each part means
- The top: the KPI's name, its kind (a button click, a page reached, a form sent, an event from your site, or a Google Analytics event), and who counts it: counted by Needlr or counted by Google Analytics.
- What counts: the rule in plain words.
- Last 7 days: how many times it happened, and by how many people. The small bars are the last 14 days, one per day. The last 7 are the darker ones.
- Where it happens: up to 3 pages where it happened most in the last 30 days, with how many times on each.
- Last seen: when it last happened, like 4 min ago or yesterday. Not yet means never.
- Used in: how many impact checks use this KPI, and how many of them are running. Drafts and finished ones count too. No checks yet means none.
- Show it on my site: opens your site with what the KPI counts outlined. More below.
Only real visitors count here. Visits Needlr recognizes as your own team's are left out.
Warnings on the card
- Stopped firing: the KPI used to happen, and had (almost) no hits in the last 24 hours. Usually the button or the page changed. Open your site and check it's still there. Impact checks that use it are put on hold until it fires again (KPI health).
- Nothing counted in the last 30 days: maybe the button or page changed, or nobody does it. Check it on your site before you pick it. For a Google Analytics KPI, check the event in Google Analytics instead.
The Stopped firing tag also shows on the KPI's button and on the impact checks that use it, so you see it wherever the KPI is named.
Show it on my site
Press Show it on my site at the bottom of the card, or the small arrow at the end of the KPI's button. Your site opens in a new tab, on the page where the KPI happens, and a note from Needlr points at it:
- Needlr: this is what your KPI counts, with that button or form outlined.
- Needlr: your KPI counts these with a number, when it matches more than one thing on the page.
- Needlr: reaching this page counts for your KPI, for a page KPI.
- If it isn't on that page, the note says so. It may be on another page, or appear only after a click.
Only you see the outline. Nothing is changed on your site, and nothing is counted.
Google Analytics KPIs
A KPI counted by Google Analytics shows people, not times, because GA4 only reports how many people did something each day. It has no Where it happens list and never shows Stopped firing (GA4 events).
Common mistakes
- Picking a KPI with a warning. If it isn't firing now, your impact check won't get numbers either.
- Skipping Where it happens. If your “Book a demo” button sits on every page, a KPI counted everywhere also counts clicks you don't care about. Choose the page that matters (pick a button).
- Trusting a quiet week. A low number on a holiday week isn't a broken KPI. Look at the 14 bars before you worry.
What the video says
Before you bet an impact check on a KPI, look at it. In step 2, point at any KPI, and a details card shows what it really counts in practice.
The big number is the last 7 days: how many times it happened, and by how many people. The little bars show 14 days, so a sudden drop stands out.
Where it happens lists its top pages over 30 days. Last seen tells you when it last fired. If it suddenly goes quiet for a day, Needlr flags it: stopped firing.
Used in shows how many impact checks already rely on this KPI, and how many are running. While one runs, its definition is locked, so the numbers stay comparable.
Not sure what a rule really matches? Press Show it on my site. Your site opens with exactly what the KPI counts outlined, right on the live page.
Thirty seconds on this card saves you weeks on the wrong needle. Pick the KPI you can see firing, on the pages that matter.