User Analytics - Session (Visit)

About

A session on a analytical level is a group of user interactions that take place within a given time frame.

A single session can contain multiple:

• page views,
• events,
• social interactions,
• and ecommerce transactions

Articles Related

Relationship

• A single user can open multiple sessions.
• A session is the container for the actions a user takes

End

There are two methods by which a session ends:

• Time-based expiration:
  • After 30 minutes of inactivity
  • At midnight
• Campaign change:
  • If a user arrives via one campaign, leaves, and then comes back via a different campaign.

Bounce

A session with only one page is called a bounce

Model

Within a fixed interval, the below metrics follows a poisson process

• the number of session or visit in a fixed interval
• the waiting time between visits

Documentation

• How an ad session is defined in AdSense
• How a web session is defined in Analytics