In the world of digital marketing and web analytics, visits and visitors are two fundamental metrics that provide information about traffic and user behavior on your website. Both metrics are crucial for evaluating the effectiveness of your online presence and making informed decisions to optimize your marketing strategies.

Definition of visits and visitors

Visits (sessions)

A visit or session refers to the period of time during which a user is active on your website. A visit begins when a user comes to your website and ends when they leave the website by closing the browser or browser tabs or after a certain period of inactivity. For etracker analytics, this is 30 minutes by default. A single visitor can make several visits to your website during one day.

Visitors (users)

A visitor is a single person or a single device from which your website is accessed. In principle, several people can share a device such as a PC. If individual people use several devices, they are counted as different visitors by default. However, it is possible to merge them into one visitor using cross-device tracking. Cookies are used to recognize returning visitors. Under data protection law, several visits by a single visitor may only be linked together within the respective day without consent. If the visitor has not given consent to the setting of cookies, if only cookie-less tracking is used in etracker analytics or if cookies have been deleted or their duration limited by means of browser protection measures, a visitor is recorded as a new visitor on return. The total number of (unique) visitors and the division into new and returning visitors should therefore be viewed with caution.

Importance of visits and visitors

Visits

The number of visits provides information about how often your website is accessed. It is an important key figure for measuring traffic and can help you to understand when and how much your site is being used. For example, an increase in visits can indicate successful marketing campaigns or seasonal trends.

Visitors

The number of visitors shows how many individual users visit your website. This key figure is important for measuring reach. An increase in the number of visitors can indicate a growing interest in your content or products. Due to the dependence on consent and cookies, measuring reach using extrapolation is more meaningful than the classic key figure of visitors:

Eindeutige Besucher = Anzahl der Besuche \ Besuchshäufigkeit (nur bei Akzeptanz von Cookies berechnet)

Difference between visits and visitors

It is important to understand the difference between visits and visitors, as both reflect different aspects of user behavior. While visits measure the activity on the website, visitors provide information about the number of individual users. A single visitor can make multiple visits, so the number of visits is usually higher than the number of visitors.

Analysis of visits and visitors

Analyzing these metrics can give you valuable insights into user behavior and the performance of your website. Here are some aspects you should consider:

  1. Sources of origin: Analyze where the visits and visitors are coming from. Is it organic search results, paid ads, social media or direct access?
  2. Frequency of visits: Understand how often visitors return. A high frequency of visits can indicate strong user loyalty.
  3. Dwell time and page views per visit: Examine how long visitors stay on your website and how many pages they view during a visit. These metrics can help you assess the quality and relevance of your content.

Optimization based on visits and visitors

To increase the number of visits and visitors and improve their quality, you can use the following strategies:

  1. Content marketing: Create relevant and valuable content that appeals to your target audience and encourages them to visit your website regularly.
  2. SEO optimization: Optimize your website for search engines to increase visibility in search results and generate more organic traffic.
  3. Social media marketing: Use social media to share your content and attract new visitors to your website.
  4. Email marketing: Use email campaigns to encourage repeat visits and build a loyal visitor base.
  5. Usability: Improve the design and navigation of your website to provide a positive user experience and increase dwell time.

Conclusion

Visits and visitors are fundamental metrics in web analytics that help you understand traffic and user behavior on your website. However, visitor measurement is limited in terms of accuracy. By analyzing and optimizing these metrics, you can increase the effectiveness of your online presence, improve user engagement and ultimately maximize the success of your marketing strategies. By continuously working to improve your website and keeping an eye on visits and visitors, you can ensure the long-term success of your online presence.