Basic definitions of unique visitors and visits

1. Unique visitors and visits
Dana Chinn
September 2009

2. Unique visitors
visit websites,
generate page views.
2

3. A “unique visitor” is actually a “unique computer”
3

4. Unique visitors may be over- or undercounted
Work =33 unique visitors
= unique visitors
Hotel
Home
= 1 unique visitor
Work
4

5. The no. of unique visitors is based on the time period you specify.
S M T W Th F S
1
July 6-12
July 13-19
July 20-26
31
The number of unique visitors...
...on July 1 is six; July 31, two. “Daily unique visitors”
...for the week of July 13 is five. “Weekly unique visitors”
...for the month of July is seven. “Monthly unique visitors”
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6. The math of visits
A visit is a period of activity separated by at least 30
minutes of inactivity.
A visitor clicks into your site at 1 p.m., surfs for 20 minutes, then clicks into CNN.com.
One visit
A visitor clicks into your site at 1 p.m., surfs for 45 minutes, talks
on the phone for 30 minutes without touching the keyboard, then
hangs up and goes back to your site for 20 minutes before
clicking into CNN.com.
Two visits
A visitor clicks into your site at 1 p.m., surfs for an hour, leaves his
computer for 29 minutes, and then comes back and surfs for
another hour before clicking into CNN.com.
One visit
6