How to compare two links and two periods

Why compare links and periods?

A lone number, like 120 clicks, says little. It only gains meaning when you put something next to it: another link, another button, last week. Comparison answers questions like: did the new campaign attract more people than the old one? Did the change I made to the site last week help?

WhatsClicks offers two ways to compare. One is comparing two links side by side. The other is the automatic comparison of each period with the previous period, shown in percent on the Summary.

A good comparison always has a clear question behind it. Instead of looking at everything at once, pick what you want to find out and only then open the dashboard. That way the numbers become an answer, not a pile of loose charts.

How do you compare two links side by side?

For this you need at least two links created. If you are on the 3-day free trial, the limit is 2 links, which already lets you compare one with the other.

1. Log in to the dashboard and open the Summary tab.
2. Choose the period you want to analyze, for example the last 30 days.
3. Use the option to compare two links and select the first and second from the list. The button and screen name may vary in the interface, so look for the option related to comparison.
4. Look at the data for both links side by side: clicks, unique visitors and the charts for each.
5. Write down what differs between them, such as peak hour, strongest day or most-used device.

To compare fairly, both links must have been used in the same period and in similar situations.

How do you compare one period with the previous one?

This comparison comes built in. Whenever you choose a period, such as 7 days, the dashboard compares with the previous period of the same length and shows a percentage. A green arrow up means more clicks. A red arrow down means fewer clicks.

To compare two specific weeks, choose 7 days and then look at the percentage. To see a month against the previous month, choose 30 days. On long periods, like 12 months, the comparison helps you see general trends.

The Today / Yesterday card and the Today and Yesterday columns in the tables give a quick day-to-day comparison, great for seeing the effect of a change on the next day.

If you want to look at one specific link across two periods, use the link filter on the Summary and switch the period, writing down the total of each. That is a simple way to follow the evolution of a campaign over the weeks.

Examples of useful comparisons

The numbers below are only teaching examples, not real results.

• Two campaigns: one link used in an ad and another used in a social media bio. Which one drew more clicks in 30 days?
• Two first messages: the same button, with a different message in each link. Which generated more clicks? Note that a click measures interest in reaching out, not the quality of the conversation.
• Before and after: 7 days before changing the color or position of the button against 7 days after.
• Two clients of an agency: each with their own login, comparing each one's progress separately.

How to avoid misleading comparisons

Comparing is useful, but it can lead you astray if you are not careful. A few simple rules help.

1. Compare periods of the same length. Seven days with seven days, thirty with thirty.
2. Consider holidays, promotions and special dates. A week with a promotion is not comparable with an ordinary week.
3. Change one thing at a time. If you changed the message and the button position together, you will not know which change made the difference.
4. Wait for enough data. With 5 clicks on one side and 8 on the other, the difference says almost nothing.
5. Remember that the owner's own clicks count. If you tested one of the links a lot, it may look stronger than it is.

What if you need to take the comparison to someone else?

WhatsClicks lets you export data as CSV, which opens in any spreadsheet, and create a report to print or save as PDF. That way you can show the comparison to a partner, a client or an ad manager without giving them access to the dashboard.

If you are an agency, remember that each client can have their own login, which makes it easier to keep accounts apart and compare only what belongs to each one.