Creating your own custom or calculated metrics or using standard metrics is a great way to refine your reports. 

Metrics are measurements applied to each row of a report, such as the number of page views or the number of orders placed for a product. A custom metric is based on a segment, filter, or attribute, while a calculated metric is built using mathematics.

There are three types of custom metrics: segment, filter, and attribute. A segment metric returns metric data only for sessions that match a segment definition. For example, you can apply a segment to the Sales/Session standard metric that limits results to sessions from mobile device users. A filter metric returns only metric data that matches a filter definition. For example, you can use the Page Views standard metric to create a custom metric that limits results to a category of pages, such as electronics. An attribute metric is based on the values of an attribute field. For example, if your site is configured to collect author name as an attribute of a page view tag, you can select this attribute to produce a metric, such as Page Views - Smith.

Metrics can be applied before or after you add breakouts to a new or saved report. When making adjustments to a saved report, like adding or removing metrics, you must generate and save the report with a new unique report name.

Segment metrics

A segment metric returns metric data only for sessions that match a segment definition. For example, you can apply a segment to the Sales/Session standard metric that limits results to sessions from mobile device users. The segmentation logic is applied only to the selected base metric, not to the entire report.

The following restrictions apply to custom metrics:

• You cannot add a segment that contains cross-session or registration criteria to a custom metric.
• If a report contains a segmented custom metric, it cannot also contain a segment that uses cross-session or registration criteria.
• You cannot add a multi-channel segment to a custom metric.

To create a custom segment metric:

1. In an ad hoc report, click the Metrics Edit icon. The Search metrics modal opens.
2. Click Create custom metric. The Create custom metric modal opens.
3. Enter a name, category, and description for the metric.
4. In the Select a metric or attribute drop-down, select Metric and then select a standard metric as the base for the custom segment metric.
5. Check that Apply a segment is selected.
6. Type a segment to apply to the metric.
7. Click Save. 

Filter metrics

A filter metric returns only metric data that matches a filter definition. For example, you can use the Page Views standard metric to create a custom metric that limits results to a category of pages, such as electronics. The filtering logic is applied only to the base metric, not to the entire report.

To create a custom filter metric:

1. In an ad hoc report, click the Metrics Edit icon. The Search metrics modal opens.
2. Click Create custom metric. The Create custom metric modal opens.
3. Enter a name, category, and description for the metric.
4. In the Select a metric or attribute drop-down, select Metric and then select a standard metric as the base for the custom filter metric.
5. Click Apply a filter.
6. Type a filter to apply to the metric.
7. Click Save. 

Attribute metrics

An attribute metric is based on the values of an attribute field. For example, if your site is configured to collect author name as an attribute of a page view tag, you can select this attribute to produce a metric such as "Page Views - Smith". Attribute metrics offer different calculation options, depending upon whether the selected attribute is text-based or numeric. You cannot apply a segment or a filter to an attribute metric.

An attribute field must be assigned an alias in the Admin console before it is available for use in custom metric definitions. The attribute fields can be based on tags or imported data.

Note: A custom metric based on a click attribution metric may require additional processing time.

To create a custom attribute metric:

1. In an ad hoc report, click the Metrics Edit icon. The Search metrics modal opens.
2. Click Create custom metric. The Create custom metric modal opens.
3. Enter a name, category, and description for the metric.
4. In the Select a metric or attribute drop-down, select Attribute and then select an attribute as the base for the custom attribute metric.
5. Select a format for how you want attribute data displayed:
   • ($0.25) displays data in currency format.
   • (25.00%) displays data in percentile format.
   • (25) displays data in integer format.
   • (25.00) displays data in decimal format.
6. Select a calculation logic for aliasing a tag attribute. The following Calculation logic options depend upon the attribute that you select:
   • Text - Available options include Count and Count distinct.
   • Number - Available options include Sum, Average (null=0), and Average (exclude null).
7. Click Save.

Note: The custom segment, filter, and attribute metrics are available for selection in the Search modal. To find custom metrics quickly, click Custom under #Tags. To add your custom segment metric to the report, move it to Selected metrics, and then click Apply.

Edit custom metrics

You can edit custom metrics that you create. Admins can also edit your custom metrics.

If you edit a custom metric that is being used by a report, your edits are applied only to recurring reports that have not been processed. Existing reports for past dates continue to display values based on the original custom metric definition.

To edit a custom metric:

1. In an ad hoc report, click the Metrics Edit icon. The Search metrics modal opens.
2. Under the Metrics column, select the custom metric that you want to edit, and then click Edit. The Create custom metric modal opens.
3. Review the metric configuration and change as appropriate.
4. Click Save.

Delete custom metrics

You can delete the custom metrics that you create. Admins can also delete your custom metrics.

If you attempt to delete a custom metric that is being used by a report, a message displays, listing all the reports that use the custom metric. Reports that use the custom metric must be stopped and deleted before you can delete the custom metric.

To delete a custom metric:

1. In an ad hoc report, click the Metrics Edit icon. The Search metrics modal opens. 
2. Under the Metrics column, select the custom metric that you want to delete, and then click Edit. The Create custom metric modal opens. 
3. Click Delete. A confirmation window asks you to confirm that you want to delete the metric.
4. Click Yes.