A general guide to the paid and organic performance fields captured by Medialake.
Medialake brings performance data from different advertising and social platforms into a common set of metrics. This makes it possible to compare and report on assets across multiple channels.
Not every platform supplies every metric. A blank value means the source did not provide that metric, not that the result was zero. Platform definitions can also differ, particularly for views, engagements and conversions.
Paid performance metrics
Paid metrics describe the delivery, audience response and cost of advertising. Medialake captures these metrics where available from Google Ads, Meta Ads, Pinterest Ads, Reddit Ads, Snapchat Ads and TikTok Ads.
Delivery and video
Metric | Definition |
Reach | The estimated number of unique people or accounts that saw the ad at least once. Reach is calculated independently by each platform and should not normally be added across ads, campaigns or platforms. |
Impressions | The total number of times the ad was displayed. One person can generate multiple impressions. |
Views | The number of video views or video starts recognised by the source platform. The watch-time threshold required to count a view differs by platform. |
Video depth | The number of video plays that reached at least 25% of the video's duration. This is a count, not an average percentage watched. |
Average watch time | The average time spent watching the video, stored in milliseconds. The exact calculation and qualifying view depend on the source platform. |
Frequency | The average number of times the ad was shown to each reached person, normally impressions divided by reach. |
Engagement and outcomes
Metric | Definition |
Engagements | The platform's combined count of interactions with the ad. This can include clicks, likes, comments, shares, follows or other actions depending on the platform. |
Comments | The number of comments attributed to the ad. Comments may also be included within engagements. |
Shares | The number of times the ad was shared or reposted. Shares may also be included within engagements. |
Conversions | The number of desired actions attributed to the ad, using the platform and advertiser's conversion definition. Examples include purchases, registrations and link clicks. |
Engagement rate | Engagements relative to impressions, or the equivalent engagement rate supplied by the platform. |
Conversion rate | Conversions relative to the platform's qualifying interactions, such as clicks or other ad interactions. |
Click-through rate (CTR) | The proportion of impressions that resulted in a click or swipe. When Medialake derives it, the calculation is clicks divided by impressions. |
Spend and efficiency
Metric | Definition |
Total spend | The total amount spent delivering the ad during the reporting period. |
Cost per click (CPC) | The average amount spent for each click or swipe. |
Cost per mille (CPM) | The average amount spent per 1,000 impressions. |
Cost per acquisition (CPA) | The average amount spent for each conversion or acquisition. |
Return on ad spend (ROAS) | The conversion value attributed to the ad divided by its cost. A ROAS of 3 means three units of value were attributed for every one unit spent. ROAS is a ratio, not a currency amount. |
Spend, CPC, CPM and CPA are captured in the advertising account's native currency. Medialake also stores USD-converted values so monetary results can be combined across accounts and markets. The exchange-rate date is retained with the converted value.
Organic performance metrics
Organic metrics describe unpaid posts and videos. Medialake captures these metrics where available from Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok and YouTube.
Metric | Definition |
Likes | The number of explicit likes received by the post or video. |
Comments | The number of comments received by the post or video. |
Shares | The number of times the post or video was shared or reposted. |
Reactions | The total reactions reported by the platform, such as Like, Love, Wow or other reaction types. Reactions can include likes, so likes and reactions should not be added together. |
Views | The number of post or video views reported by the platform. On some platforms this represents video plays, while on others it can represent impressions or unique impressions. |
Organic figures are normally cumulative running totals. Medialake refreshes them during metric polling, retains the snapshots and uses the latest available value for dashboards and reports. Do not add snapshots from different dates together.
Reporting periods
Paid advertising data can be captured in two forms:
Lifetime metrics are the ad's cumulative results at the time of the latest sync.
Historical metrics divide performance into time periods for trend reporting. The period size varies by integration, and not every integration provides historical data.
Organic metrics are captured as cumulative snapshots rather than period totals.
Comparing platforms
Medialake normalises metric names, but it cannot make every platform's measurement rules identical. Keep these differences in mind:
A view can require a different minimum watch time on each video platform.
Engagements can contain different combinations of actions.
Conversions depend on the advertiser's conversion setup and attribution window. For Meta Ads, Medialake currently maps link clicks into the conversions field.
Organic reactions can overlap with likes.
Reach is estimated independently by each source and is not deduplicated across ads or platforms.
Counts can be added when they cover distinct records, but rates, frequency, CPC, CPM, CPA and ROAS should be recalculated from their underlying totals rather than summed.
Where metrics appear
Captured metrics can appear in Performance dashboards, asset performance views and report exports. Not every captured field is displayed on every screen or included in every export.
For platform-specific field mappings and reporting behaviour, see:
Questions about a specific metric? Contact [email protected].