“Session” in the web field is one of the important indicators when performing access analysis. Many people know that it is important, but are unsure about the details, such as what kind of indicators they are and how they can be measured.
Therefore, in this article, we will explain in detail the overview of sessions, how to measure them, and how to increase the number of sessions. We have also introduced some indicators that are easily mistaken for sessions, so please refer to them.
What is a session on the web?
A session is a term that refers to a series of operations on the Internet from the start to the end of communication, and is used as an index for access analysis in the web field.
In access analysis, sessions are considered as one of the elements that make up the number of accesses. A series of actions from a user visiting a website to visiting and leaving the website are counted as one.
The important thing in counting sessions is that they are a series of actions. If a user views multiple pages on a website and then leaves the site, that session will be counted as one, regardless of the number of pages viewed, as long as it is a series of actions.
Please note that even if the access is from the same user, if there is another access after the communication is interrupted, the number of sessions will be two.
How sessions work
When a user accesses a web
server
and communication begins, the web server issues a unique identifier called a “session ID.” When the user receives this issued session ID, it will be linked as the target user.
A session ID records the interaction between a web server and a user, and this information is stored in
a cookie
on the user’s web browser.
However, if the user closes the browser and the communication ends, or the expiration date set in the configuration file has passed, the issued ID will become invalid. When the user accesses the web server again, a new session ID is issued and a new record of the interaction between the web server and the user is recorded.
Difference between sessions between UA (Universal Analytics) and GA4 (Google Analytics 4)
Google Analytics, an access analysis tool provided by Google, is useful for measuring the number of website sessions. The specific measurement method will be explained later, but even in Google Analytics, there is a difference in the definition of a session between “UA” and “GA4”. We will explain the difference below.
What is UA (Universal Analytics) and GA4 (Google Analytics 4)?
Before looking at the differences in session definitions, let’s take a quick look at the overview of UA and GA4 themselves.
What is UA (Universal Analytics)?
UA is a property of Google Analytics and was released by Google in 2013.
In the IT field, property means the “information” of an object, and is one of the functions included in so-called Google Analytics. The data collected and accumulated by Google Analytics will be analyzed, measured, and processed by UA.
Please note that data processing by UA Properties will cease as of July 1, 2023.
What is GA4 (Google Analytics 4)?
On the other hand, GA4 is a significantly updated property that replaces the previous UA as the next generation of analytics. It was released in October 2020 and is positioned as the successor to UA. You can collect both website and app data, giving you a deeper understanding of
your customer journey
.
Additionally, unlike conventional UA, privacy protection and security are strengthened, and it responds to diversifying user trends.
What is a session in UA (Universal Analytics)?
The session definition in UA is as follows.
| Defining sessions in UA (Universal Analytics) | |
| analysis axis | Since UA is a session optimization tool, its analysis is session-centric. |
| hit type |
UA hit types include: ・Pageviews ・Events ・Social ・Transactions/Ecommerce ・Custom Speed ・Exceptions ・Apps/Screen Views |
| Starting a session | If the inflow source changes, the session will become a new session. |
| session length | This is the difference between the first and last page display time. |
| Cross-day data processing | Data processing will be performed within 4 hours. |
What is a session in GA4 (Google Analytics 4)?
On the other hand, the session definition in GA4 is as follows.
| Session definition in GA4 (Google Analytics 4) | |
| analysis axis | GA4 is a user-centered analysis, with analysis and measurements that place emphasis on the user. As a result, it is now possible to check “LTV (lifetime value) = customer lifetime value.” |
| hit type | UA had multiple hit types, but in GA4 they were all unified to “event”. |
| Starting a session | Even if the inflow source changes, it will not be a new session. |
| session length | These are the event occurrence time of “session_start” and the last event occurrence time. |
| Cross-day data processing | Data processing will be performed within 72 hours. |
Sessions and other differences
From here, we will explain the following three indicators that are used in access analysis as well as sessions. Know the difference between sessions.
Difference from PV (page view)
PV is an indicator that shows the total number of pages viewed on a website. This measures how many times a page on the target site has been viewed, and is incremented by the number of times it has been viewed.
A session is counted as one session no matter how many pages are viewed within a series of communications when using the Internet, but if multiple pages are viewed within one session, that number will be counted as PV. For example, if a user views 4 pages on the target site in one communication, the session will be 1 and the PV will be 4.
A high number of PVs means that many pages are being viewed on the target site, but PV is only one indicator. For example, whether one person views your page 100 times or 100 people views it once, the number of PVs will be 100. In this way, PV alone is not sufficient information, so it is necessary to refer to all indicators when analyzing website access status.
Difference with UU (Unique User)
UU is the number of users who visited your website within a certain period of time. The difference from sessions is that UU identifies each user and then counts the number of users.
Sessions are counted in units of actions, so if the same user visits a website multiple times within a certain period and takes a series of actions, only the number of visits will be counted. However, UU is counted in units of users, so no matter how many times the same user visits the site within a certain period of time, it will still be counted as 1.
However, keep in mind that if the same user uses a different device or browser, they will be recognized as a different user.
Difference from IMP (impression)
IMP indicates the number of advertisements displayed on a website, and is an index for measuring advertising effectiveness and advertising price. While sessions are a metric that counts a series of user actions, IMP is a metric that counts the number of ad impressions. For example, if a user views a page with three ads in a sequence, the session will be 1 and the IMP will be 3.
However, even if a page with an ad is viewed, if the ad is not displayed, it will not be added to the IMP. For example, be aware that ads placed in the footer will not be counted as an IMP if the user does not scroll to the end of the page because they will not be displayed.
How to measure sessions
There are two ways to measure sessions:
Let’s look at them in order.
How to use Google Analytics
Google Analytics is an access analysis tool provided by Google. Using Google Analytics, you can analyze the access status of your website using various indicators.
However, the specifications are different between UA and GA4. Here we will explain each method.
For UA (Universal Analytics)
UA can measure the following items. Let’s look at each measurement method (confirmation method) one by one.
*UA will stop processing data on July 1, 2023. Please note that one year after that, on July 1, 2024, all the data you have acquired up to that point will no longer be viewable.
Entire site
How to view the number of sessions for the entire site in UA is as follows.
1. Click “Users” → “Summary” on the left bar
2. You can check the number of sessions for the entire site in “Sessions” to the right of “New User”
Page unit
How to view the number of sessions per page is as follows.
1. Click “Behavior” → “Site Content” → “All Pages” on the left bar
2. You can check the number of sessions per page as “Number of visits per page”
By referrer
You can check the number of sessions by referrer as follows.
1. Click “Acquisition” → “Site Content” → “All Pages” on the left bar
2. You can check sessions by referrer in “Session” to the right of “New User”
For GA4 (Google Analytics 4)
GA4 can measure the following items. We will explain each measurement method (confirmation method).
Entire site
1. Select “Report” from the GA4 dashboard
2. Select “Attract Customers” from the menu
3. Select “Traffic acquisition” from the menu
4. You can check the number of sessions for the entire site from the session numbers
By landing page (LP)
1. Select “Report” from the GA4 dashboard
2. Select “Engagement” from the menu
3. Select “Landing Page” from the menu
4. The number of sessions for each landing page will be listed.
By day
1. Select “Report” from the GA4 dashboard
2. Select “Lifecycle” from the menu
3. Select “Attract Customers” from the menu
4. Select “Traffic acquisition” from the menu
5. Click the button to change the analysis period at the top right of the displayed report.
6. Specify date on calendar
7. You can check the number of sessions on the relevant date from the sessions column.
How to use GTM
GTM is an abbreviation for “Google Tag Manager” and is a tool that allows you to centrally manage all kinds of
tags
, including measurement tags and advertising tags.
A tag is a code that is used to convert website listing advertisements, analyze the time users spend on a website, and track users. Originally, in order to analyze a website, tags must be embedded in
the HTML
of all target pages.
However, GTM is a tool that allows you to embed tags without editing HTML, making it easier to use Google Analytics, which requires embedding tags. If you use GTM and Google Analytics in conjunction, you can analyze the sessions mentioned above even more easily, so you should actively use them.
How to utilize sessions for access analysis
The analyzed sessions can be utilized in the following ways.
I will explain each one in turn.
Investigate the circulation rate
The number of sessions can be used to investigate the migration rate. Visit rate is an indicator of how many pages a user views in one session. At first glance, it seems similar to PV, but PV is the total number of pages viewed within a specific period, and does not indicate the number of pages viewed in one session.
The circulation rate can be calculated by PV divided by the number of sessions. It is an index that can measure users’ evaluation of a website, so it can be said that the higher the circulation rate, the higher the evaluation from users.
If you use sessions to investigate the circulation rate and aim to improve it, it will lead to improvements in search rankings and conversion rates, so be sure to check the circulation rate as well.
Rewrite pages with a large number of sessions
You can also try to improve your pages based on the number of sessions. Pages with a high number of sessions are pages that users visit many times, so if you improve that page by rewriting it, you will be able to attract more visits.
Concentrate access on sessions that lead to conversions
You can also take the approach of identifying pages with a high number of sessions that lead to conversions and attracting more access there. For example, you can increase the number of links that lead to the relevant page from other websites, or make it possible to jump directly to the relevant page from the top page of the website.
By concentrating access on pages with many sessions that lead to conversions, you can expect to further improve conversions.
To increase the number of sessions
The following measures are effective for increasing the number of sessions.
Increase the amount of content on your website
Simply increasing the amount of content on your website will not necessarily increase the number of sessions, but having a high site volume will help increase access from
search engines
.
Additionally, a website with a large amount of content is more likely to be enjoyed by users and will show interest in it than a website with a small amount of content and a lack of content.
Provide valuable information to users
The key to increasing the number of sessions is to provide valuable information to users. If users find the information useful and useful, they are more likely to read to the end of the page.
Websites with a lot of valuable content can be expected to have many repeat visitors and an increase in the number of sessions. Additionally, repeat visitors can share their content with their followers through social media, increasing the chances of it being spread to more people.
Increase inflow routes
You can also expect an increase in the number of sessions by increasing the number of inflow routes for users. For example, it is also effective to use various types of advertisements such as listing advertisements, display advertisements, and video advertisements that utilize SNS such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.
Another way to attract users is by using advertisements that do not use the Internet, such as mass media advertisements and transportation advertisements.
Increasing the number of sessions also leads to higher SEO ratings.
Increasing the number of sessions will also improve your
SEO
rating. Among the number of sessions, in order to increase the number of sessions from search engines, it is necessary to include keywords that are caught in searches in the article content.
Selecting appropriate keywords and including them in articles is one of the SEO measures, so increasing the number of sessions will lead to a higher SEO rating. Increase your session count and improve your SEO rating.
summary
In this article, we have explained the session. A session is a term that refers to the action from the start to the end of communication, and in access analysis, the series of actions from visiting a website to leaving the website is counted as one session.
PV, UU, and IMP are indicators similar to sessions, but their meanings are completely different, so be sure to remember what each one indicates.
Sessions can be measured using Google Analytics. GTM improves the usability of Google Analytics, so please try using it in conjunction with Google Analytics.
Understanding and analyzing the number of sessions can be used to increase the number of accesses and improve conversion. Additionally, increasing the number of sessions not only improves SEO but also brings various benefits. In order to increase the value of your website, it is important to use effective methods to increase the number of sessions.
Please refer to the information introduced in this article to understand sessions correctly and utilize them for access analysis.