First, lets start with understanding the difference between
hits, page views and unique visitors.
A user session is a single session user who may view many
or a single page on your web site. Each time they come back
that is a new user session.
Page views are simply the number of times a page or pages
have been viewed by your visitors.
Hits are the total number of requests for a file i.e. html,
jpg or gif's.
A unique visitor is a little different. It is the number of
actual unique individuals or visitors. The example below shows
1,259 users sessions from 595 unique users/visitors.
For example, a web sites monthly statistics might look
something like this:
- Hits: 15,445
- Page Views: 11,327
- User Sessions: 1,259
- Unique Users/Visitors: 595
So, lets says that you are purchasing banner advertising on
a web site and they quote web site traffic statistics:
Sounds great doesn't it? Not really. That could mean that
they are only getting 11,327 page views! These statistics can
be misleading, depending upon the number of unique visitors
and page views.
As a web site owner you are interested in all of these
statistics especially the unique users and page views. How
many unique users do you have? How many visited once, twice,
three times or more? In other words these statistics tell you
if people are coming back or not. It will show you which pages
are your top entry and exit points. A good web site statistics
package (usually provided by your ISP) will provide you with
all these and more.
As an advertiser, you are interested in the number of page
views. A page view represents the number of potential
impressions your ad might receive.
The key to getting the right information is to ask the
right questions!
