Glossary
What is a conversion anomaly?
A conversion anomaly is a conversion metric moving outside its expected range for that funnel and time period — the statistical signal that usually starts a conversion incident.
Definition
A conversion anomaly is a conversion metric moving outside the range that is normal for that funnel, that day of the week, and that traffic mix. It is a detection signal, not yet a diagnosis.
An anomaly says something unusual is happening. A conversion incident is what you open once the movement is real and worth investigating.
Why it matters
- Fixed thresholds either miss real drops on small funnels or fire constantly on volatile ones.
- Comparing against a funnel's own baseline accounts for weekday patterns and normal variance.
- Good anomaly detection is what makes alerts trustworthy enough that people still read them in month three.
How to detect it
- 1Build a baseline per funnel and per stage from recent comparable periods.
- 2Require both a meaningful deviation and a sustained one before alerting.
- 3Account for volume: small samples swing widely and produce false positives.
- 4Suppress known causes — a paused campaign is expected, not anomalous.
Example
Illustrative scenario: a funnel that normally converts between 9% and 12% on weekdays sits at 6% for four consecutive hours. That is outside its range and sustained — an anomaly worth opening as an incident.
How Quarkad helps
Quarkad evaluates funnel metrics against each funnel's own baseline and raises an incident when a movement is both meaningful and sustained, rather than alerting on every fluctuation.
Related terms and pages
Frequently asked questions
- Is every anomaly a problem?
- No. Some are expected — a paused campaign, a holiday, a deliberate form change. Anomaly detection flags the movement; context decides whether it matters.
- How much of a drop should trigger an alert?
- It depends on the funnel's normal variance and volume. A 20% move on a high-volume funnel can be significant while the same move on a low-volume one is noise.
Find the change behind the drop.
Quarkad monitors your funnels and the changes around them, then tells you which change lines up with the drop.