Interpreting metric colors
Every metric across the dashboard (VS, SOV, TMR, AIS, SES) uses the same three-band color system so you can scan a page and immediately see what's healthy, what needs attention, and what's broken.
The thresholds
| Color | Range | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 🟢 Green | ≥ 40% | Strong — the brand is performing well on this metric. |
| 🟡 Yellow | 15–39% | Watch — partial performance, inconsistent or category-dependent. |
| 🔴 Red | < 15% | Weak — material gap that needs action. |
These bands apply uniformly to VS, SOV, and AIS. TMR uses the same colors but is interpreted on the graded-credit scale (see TMR).
Why thresholds are relative, not absolute
The colors are tuned to competitor-aware performance, not raw percentages in a vacuum:
- A 35% SOV is yellow in a 3-competitor market (parity = ~33%) but green in a 10-competitor market (parity = ~10%).
- A 20% VS is yellow in mature categories where every brand has 30%+ but green in an emerging category where the leader has 25%.
The dashboard applies the band thresholds against the score as displayed, but the competitor comparison badges next to each metric show whether you're above or below the tracked competitor average. Always read the two together.
Up / down trend arrows
Alongside the color, metric cards show a trend arrow vs the previous period:
- ⬆ Green up — improvement.
- ⬇ Red down — regression.
- For SEO rank specifically, the convention flips: ⬇ green down arrow = rank moved closer to position 1 (a good thing).
Stealth mode
By default, the sensitive metrics (VS, SOV, TMR, SV) are masked under Stealth mode — colors and arrows are visible but absolute percentages are hidden. This is the recommended state when sharing your screen in a meeting. Toggle it from the dashboard header to reveal values.
Common misreads
- "My SOV dropped from 40% to 30%, that's red." Not necessarily — if your competitor set just grew from 3 to 5 brands, parity shifted from 33% to 20%, so 30% is still above parity. Check the competitor comparison badge.
- "All metrics are green so we're done." Green is strong in absolute terms, but if every competitor is also green, you're at parity. Cross-check with the relative comparison and the trend arrow.
- "My TMR is 100% but VS is 5%." TMR is computed only over runs where you appear, so a brand that shows up in 1 of 100 runs at position 1 will display TMR = 100%. Always read VS first.