Get a clearer picture with the date and segment comparison feature
What can you do with it? What are the benefits?
Make informed decisions faster by easily comparing different segments and dates with each other.
Compare report data for multiple segments next to each other
Directly compare the behaviour of visitors from different segments e.g. customers with accounts vs. customers without accounts. Segment comparisons are a powerful way to compare different audience; learn which ones perform better; and in what way their actions differ.
Compare report data for two time periods next to each other
See how your website performs compared to the previous month/week/year. Including seeing trends over those periods. Say, your business always picks up at the same times within a year, or there’s a sag in business for every user segment over this year and the last except one.
By being able to compare date ranges you are able to get a quick overview of trends and period to period performance. Has a campaign worked better in September than in October? Get an instant look by having the side-by-side comparison in Matomo.
What is it capable of?
It lets you ask the question, “What is different?”
If you look at reports you’ll only see how people behave overall and if you look at specific segments you’ll see how they behave at face value, however, if you compare data together you’ll be quickly informed on what makes them unique. This data is still there when you don’t use the comparison feature, it’s just buried. Comparing data highlights discrepancies and leads to important questions and answers.
For example, perhaps some class of users have very low engagement on a specific day compared to the rest of your visitors, and perhaps those users are responsible for an outsized proportion of churn.
Who could benefit from it, and why?
Everyone can benefit from using it (and probably should use it). It’s yours to experiment with! You shouldn’t feel restricted to only comparing between the current and last period, or having questions before you start comparing. Follow your instincts and see what pops out when data from different segments is laid out next to each other.
Where can you find it in Matomo?
- Segment comparison is activated by the new icon in the segment selector
- Date comparison can be found in the calendar section of Matomo
- The list of active comparisons is visible at the top of the page for all pages that support comparison
- Comparisons are visible in every report that supports comparing data, and reports that do not support it will display a message saying so
How do you use it?
- To compare segments, click the icon in the segment selector
- To compare periods, click the ‘compare’ checkbox in the period selector, then select what period you want to compare it against in the dropdown (previous period, previous year, or a custom range)
- When comparisons are active, view your reports as normal
Take it away!
The comparison feature is a new tool from Matomo 3.12.0 that highlights discrepancies and differences in data that can lead to more clarity and understanding, so we’d encourage everyone to use it.
Try it out today in your Matomo and see the power behind this new data comparison mode!
