RFV score: recency, frequency, and volume explained
The RFV is an engagement score that combines Recency, Frequency, and Volume to measure reader loyalty on a scale from 0 to 100. Invented by the Financial Times, it is actionable for every website:
- Recency: when was the last time the user visited my website?
- Frequency: how often does the user return?
- Volume: what is the average number of pageviews per session?
The strength of the RFV is that it weighs reader frequency against volume. A reader coming every other day and reading 10 articles scores higher than a reader coming every day but leaving after 1 pageview.
The score ranges from 0 to 100, where 100 means the reader keeps coming back daily and reads several articles each time. The RFV also factors in the date of the last visit, so it decays over time.
Compass automatically assigns a score to each reader and aggregates it to provide an RFV score for each article of a publication.
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RFV and the loyalty funnel
Section titled “RFV and the loyalty funnel”Compass presents the RFV score of readers as the “Audience Loyalty Funnel.” Each reader falls into one of these segments based on their loyalty funnel classification:
- New (RFV = 1): A first-time visitor in the last 30 days.
- Fly-by (RFV ≤ 10): A user that has visited more than once but not enough to remember your brand.
- Casual (RFV ≤ 35): Visited over the last 30 days, remembers your brand but is not loyal to it and is unlikely to come directly to your website. Typically enters through Social or Search. A good segment to activate because it has the potential to become loyal.
- Loyal (RFV ≤ 60): Users that visit often and identify with your brand. Likely to convert.
- Lover (RFV ≤ 100): Your most loyal readers. They come almost every day and read multiple stories.
- Private (RFV = ?): Users who did not give consent to track their engagement level.
- Won Back: Percentage of concurrent users who returned after not visiting in the last 30 days. Only available in Explore for analysis purposes.
RFV attribution
Section titled “RFV attribution”Every time a reader visits an article, their RFV score is attributed to that article, contributing to the article’s aggregate RFV. For example, an article with an RFV of 13/100 is read on average by casual visitors.
The same RFV attribution from the user to an article applies to Authors, Sections, Topics, Tags, Domains, and other dimensions.
Compass lets you filter articles by the audience loyalty funnel to see which ones attract new readers and which ones are preferred by your most loyal readers.
RFV formula personalization
Section titled “RFV formula personalization”The RFV formula is not open to customization. A standardized formula keeps scores comparable across publishers, allowing the RFV to function as an industry benchmark.
The RFV metric supports several applications across your organization, from Editorial and Marketing to Commercial and Product teams.
Editorial and audience
Section titled “Editorial and audience”By filtering through different segments of the loyalty funnel, or by looking at an article’s RFV, editorial teams can quickly identify which articles are ideal for acquisition and which ones drive retention and loyalty.
Articles ideal for acquisition tend to bring a high volume of users and pageviews. Loyals and Lovers, despite being smaller segments, are the readers most likely to subscribe to your paywall, sign up for your newsletter, follow you on social media, or enter directly through your home page without an external source.
Different user segments gravitate toward different types of content, sections, and topics. Replicating successful patterns lets you serve each audience segment with the right content.
High-RFV users also spend more time on the home page, making it a useful criterion for deciding which posts to feature there.
Marketing and subscriptions
Section titled “Marketing and subscriptions”The RFV and the audience loyalty funnel serve as a predictive variable for subscription and newsletter signups.
The higher the visitor loyalty, the more likely the reader is to become a subscriber or join a membership program. You can see this information in the Optimize model once you implement conversions using the conversion and subscriptions tracking documentation.
Commercial and monetization
Section titled “Commercial and monetization”RFV and the audience loyalty funnel provide a fresh perspective on your audience by adding a monetization view instead of a pure volume approach.
With Marfeel you can attribute revenue to different user segments based on loyalty and make revenue-driven decisions about which audience to target and which content to produce.
You can see with this analysis (log in to your Marfeel account) whether it is more valuable to pursue high volumes of audience or to focus on the recurring users that visit your publication regularly.
All together now
Section titled “All together now”By segmenting your audience based on loyalty, Marfeel gives you multiple perspectives: editorial, marketing, and commercial. This alignment lets you base strategic decisions on which segments deliver the most value, then cascade that focus throughout your organization, from the board of directors to the newsroom.
Historical data supports long-term decisions (for example, nurture Loyals and Lovers). Real-time data allows the newsroom to monitor content production and maintain a laser focus on the priority segments you defined.
What is the RFV score and how is it calculated?
RFV is an engagement score invented by the Financial Times that combines Recency (when the user last visited), Frequency (how often they return), and Volume (average pageviews per session). The score ranges from 0 to 100, where 100 means the reader returns daily and reads multiple articles each time.
What are the loyalty funnel segments in Compass?
Compass segments readers into New (RFV = 1), Fly-by (RFV up to 10), Casual (RFV up to 35), Loyal (RFV up to 60), Lover (RFV up to 100), Private (consent not given), and Won Back (returned after 30+ days of inactivity).
Can I customize the RFV formula?
No. The RFV formula is closed to customization. A standardized formula makes scores comparable across publishers, allowing the RFV to serve as an industry benchmark.