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is counter event and metric instances same?

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
May 3, 2023
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Best answer by Jennifer_Dungan

To add some additional context... are they the same thing... No

Can you use Instance of X in place of setting up a custom metric - in most cases Yes

While the blog post does help to explain the differences, many of the issues that used to exist when trying to use Instance no longer apply... Unlike the old Reports, "Instance of " counters are valid metrics that we can use...(and I use them all the time)

In my own implementation, I have a Custom Metric for "Menu Interactions", If I look at this data side by side with "Custom Link Instance" (filtered for items that contain "menu" as per my naming conventions) they are an exact match.

In many cases now, I am using the Instance metrics (for less important items - I still make proper named counters for key items) rather than custom metrics.

Now, that said, Instance Metrics can be tricky when dealing with s.products for instance.. since you could have multiple products, and you want each to count... but an instance of wouldn't count against each product, but as a whole... so using Instances here wouldn't be a good match.

So while it's good to be aware of the limitations that instance of used to have, we also need to be free to move forward and use data that is available to us out of the box...

jeff_bloomer

Community Advisor and Adobe Champion

@aagk123

I am going to answer you with one of my favorite posts by Adam Greco, but the simple answer is: NO.
https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2009/04/19/instances-inside-omniture-sitecatalyst#gs.2uwzac

Jennifer_Dungan

Accepted solution

Community Advisor and Adobe Champion

To add some additional context... are they the same thing... No

Can you use Instance of X in place of setting up a custom metric - in most cases Yes

While the blog post does help to explain the differences, many of the issues that used to exist when trying to use Instance no longer apply... Unlike the old Reports, "Instance of " counters are valid metrics that we can use...(and I use them all the time)

In my own implementation, I have a Custom Metric for "Menu Interactions", If I look at this data side by side with "Custom Link Instance" (filtered for items that contain "menu" as per my naming conventions) they are an exact match.

In many cases now, I am using the Instance metrics (for less important items - I still make proper named counters for key items) rather than custom metrics.

Now, that said, Instance Metrics can be tricky when dealing with s.products for instance.. since you could have multiple products, and you want each to count... but an instance of wouldn't count against each product, but as a whole... so using Instances here wouldn't be a good match.

So while it's good to be aware of the limitations that instance of used to have, we also need to be free to move forward and use data that is available to us out of the box...

Jennifer_Dungan

Community Advisor and Adobe Champion

One more thing I should mention... on your eVars... Instance of is a bit different...

Let's say you are tracking a campaign, and you store it in eVar1 (with a visit level attribution). This will be tracked on the first page, then carried through on other pages through attribution.

When you build a report like this:

Page Views Instance of eVar1

eVar1 100 20

The "Instance Of" is the instance where the eVar was set (i.e. on the first page that actually contained the campaign), the page views represent all the pages (including the first one) that have the campaign value set (either directly or through attribution)

This distinction is important.. I use the Instance of to find people coming to the page via the campaign, then I use Page View / Instance to get a average pages viewed coming from the campaign.

jeff_bloomer

Community Advisor and Adobe Champion

@aagk123 - I will counter @jennifer_dungan's reply with just one point, and she does make a good argument with everything else. I will say that if you want an accurate count for ANYTHING, then a success event associated with your conversion variable is always the best way to implement things. However, if that is now how things were initially done, then Instances may be your fallback. 😉

Jennifer_Dungan

Community Advisor and Adobe Champion

Since all my instances and custom events match 100%, I have no concerns at all with the accuracy of my instances... 😛 But as I said, all my important things, I use custom metrics.. but that is also so people who are building their own reports don't have to learn about how Instances work.. they can just use the "easy" pre-made counters

jeff_bloomer

Community Advisor and Adobe Champion

LOL! The fact that I got such a detailed answer out of you is awesome. Instances just bother me so much, but I see why many people use them. I've just been burned enough that I tend to mistrust them.

Jennifer_Dungan

Community Advisor and Adobe Champion

Well back in the old Reports.. yeah.. Instances were a mess... I never used them until Workspace (after a lot of comparative tests... metric vs instance)

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