A group of user interactions with a website or application during a defined period of activity.
A basic analytics unit used to understand visits and behavior across multiple pages or events.
Short and sweet:
A group of user interactions with a website or application during a defined period of activity.
A basic analytics unit used to understand visits and behavior across multiple pages or events.
See also: User, Pageview, Bounce Rate
A session groups together all the activity a single visitor generates during one continuous visit to a website, including every page viewed and action taken before a period of inactivity or a new day resets the count. It gives a more accurate picture of engagement than pageviews alone, since one session might include five pages read closely or fifty pages skimmed quickly, and the distinction matters for judging real interest. Analytics platforms typically end a session automatically after around 30 minutes of inactivity, though that default window can usually be adjusted.
When someone browses five different pages on Zappos before closing the tab, Google Analytics counts all of that activity as a single session rather than five separate visits.
If a shopper leaves an Amazon tab open and returns 45 minutes later to keep browsing, most analytics tools will start counting a brand new visit since the gap exceeded the standard timeout window.
A news site like CNN might see the average length of these visits spike during a major breaking story, as readers stick around clicking through multiple related articles instead of leaving after one.
