Article updated: April 30, 2024
Metrics in Insights
Insights generates a standard set of metrics for your search results, so you can see how relevant your search term is from a variety of angles. Insights updates these metrics based on the time frame you choose and the filters you apply, so you can zero in on the data that matters most to you.
The default time zone for all search data is UTC, but you can change it to your preferred time zone from the date picker. For information on how Insights categorizes mentions, see About Insights mention classification.
This metric is only available for saved searches. Quick searches show the Total Mentions tile, without benchmarking information.
The Total Volume tile shows several key metrics for your search mentions, so you can quickly see how popular your search term is. For example, if the total number of mentions is higher than the number of unique authors, you can assume that your audience is engaged and posting about it more than once.
Insights compares the search results for the current period to the results for the previous period, and shows the net change (up or down).
Total mentions: The total number of mentions matching your search.
Total reach: The total number of people who have likely seen mentions that match your search.
Total impressions: The number of times that tweets in your search results may have been seen (for Twitter mentions only, based on author and retweeter follower counts).
Unique authors: The number of authors who have mentioned your search term (all platforms).
Average followers: The average number of followers for all Twitter authors in your results.
Retweet rate: The average number of retweets for each Twitter mention in your results.
You can choose which metrics to display in the tile. See Analyze Insights search results for more information.
The Metric Volume Over Time tile contains a line chart showing the distribution of mentions for the selected time frame. You can view mention volume by hour, day, week, or month. Point to a place on the graph to see the number of mentions for a specific point in time. When you select a point on the graph, the Mentions panel filters the mentions list based on that time period.
For saved searches, Iris™, Insights AI analyst, automatically detects peaks in conversations where interest in your search term was higher than usual. Select a peak marker on the graph to see more information in the Mentions panel.
The Mention Volume by Day of the Week and Hour tile contains a color-coded grid showing the volume of mentions and their frequency at different times of the day and on different days of the week. Point to a square on the grid to see the number of mentions for a specific hour on a specific day.
This metric is only available for saved searches.
The Mention Volume Benchmark tile contains a color-coded bar chart that compares mention volume between the current period and the previous period, for each category. You can view benchmark data by platform, sentiment, emotion, interest, language, or country.
The solid part of each bar represents data for the current period. The striped part of the bar represents data for the previous period. Point your mouse to either section of the bar to see the total volume of mentions for that period.
The Word Cloud tile contains a cluster of the most frequently used words and phrases in your search results. The larger the word, the more often it appears compared to the other terms. Colors identify different topic categories. Select a word or phrase to see all related mentions in the Mentions panel.
For saved searches, you can customize the word cloud to narrow in on the content that matters to you. See Analyze Insights search results for more information.
The Sentiment Volume tile contains a donut chart that shows the distribution of mentions by positive, neutral, and negative sentiment. Point to a segment to see the number of mentions classified by that sentiment.
The Sentiment Volume Over Time tile contains a line chart that shows the total number of mentions for each sentiment for the selected time period. You can view sentiment volume by hour, day, week, or month. Point to a place on the graph to see the number of mentions for a sentiment at a specific point in time.
For saved searches, Iris™, Insights AI analyst, automatically detects peaks in conversations where a particular sentiment was higher than usual. Select a peak marker on the graph to see more information in the Mentions panel.
The Emotion Volume tile contains a bar chart that shows the distribution of mentions by emotion, to help you understand how people are reacting to your search term. Point to a bar to see the number of mentions assigned to that emotion.
The Emotion Volume Over Time tile contains a line chart that shows the total number of mentions, classified by emotion, for the selected time period. Select a time interval from the list to see the number of mentions by hour, day, week, or month. Point to a place on any line chart to see the number of mentions for that emotion at a specific point in time.
For saved searches, Iris™, Insights AI analyst, automatically detects peaks in conversations where a particular emotion was higher than usual. Select a peak marker on the graph to see more information in the Mentions panel.
The Top Shared URLs tile contains a list of the links shared most often on Twitter (top 10 for quick searches, top 50 for saved searches), sorted by how many times they appear in the search results. Select a link to view all the mentions that contain it in the Mentions panel.
The Top Sites tile contains a list of the sites where mentions appear most often (top 10 for quick searches, top 50 for saved searches), sorted by number of mentions. Select a domain to view the mentions coming from that domain in the Mentions panel.
The Top Authors tile shows you which authors appear most often in your search results (top 10 for quick searches, top 50 for saved searches) across all platforms with a populated author field. The list is sorted by mention volume. Each entry includes the author's avatar (where available), the author's percentage share of mentions, and their reach (how many people may have seen the author's mentions).
The Top Hashtags tile contains a list of the most popular hashtags in your search results (top 10 for quick searches, top 50 for saved searches), sorted by the number of times they appear. Select a hashtag to view a list of mentions that contain that hashtag in the Mentions panel.
The Top Interests tile contains a list of the interests most often reported by authors in your search results (top 10 for quick searches, top 50 for saved searches). Insights sorts the results by number of mentions (as opposed to number of unique authors). Saved search results show the number of unique authors for each interest, and a graph that shows the strength of the interest over the period of the search results.
The Top Languages tile contains a list of the languages used most often in the search results, sorted by number of mentions. Saved search results list the number of unique authors for each language.
The Gender Split tile shows an estimated breakdown of mentions (as a percentage of the total) by male and female authors, based on author name.
The Volume by Countries tile contains a color-coded map that shows the distribution of mentions in your search results based on country of origin. Different colors represent different countries. The darker the color, the more often that country appears in the results. Point to a country on the map to see the number of mentions associated with it. Select a country to see all its associated mentions in the Mentions panel.
Insights also displays a list of the top 10 countries identified in the search results, sorted by mention frequency. Saved search results list the number of unique authors for each country.
This metric is only available for saved searches.
The Topic Wheel tile contains a color-coded donut chart that shows the most popular topics related to your mention results. The most popular topics are in the inner circle, and popular subtopics are in the outer circle. Select a topic to see all the mentions related to it in the Mentions panel.
This metric is only available when comparing saved searches.
The Share of voice tile shows the share of voice for each saved search as a percentage of the total mention volume across all selected searches. Point to a segment to see the percentage and number of mentions for a search. Select a segment to see the list of content containing the mentions for a search.
The Mentions panel contains a list of all the mentions returned in your search results. Each entry contains information about the mention, such as source, author, location, date and time, and sentiment. You can sort the list of mentions by date, by reach, or by Twitter metrics, and export the mentions to an external file to share with others. See Analyze Insights search results for more information.
Can't find what you're looking for? We're here to help