A view means that the 3D model was loaded. There are several ways this can happen:
A visitor views the model page on sketchfab.com
On another website, a visitor clicks the "Play" button on an embedded model
On another website, the model was embedded with autostart turned on
On another website, the model was started programmatically with the Viewer API
Notes:
A view is counted the moment the model starts to load.
Views by the model owner and Sketchfab staff are not counted.
Views of Draft models are not counted.
Views on organization pages (sketchfab.com/orgs/*) are not counted.
If page load times and performance are a concern, you can try "lazyloading" the iframe, or use the Viewer API to load the model in more complex web applications.