Do you want to find out how well your website or application is performing when it comes to user interactions? Then you can easily do so by using an analytical insights tool like Google Analytics. However, do you know when will Google Analytics be unable to identify sessions from the same user by default?
This question is important because Google Analytics records data about user interactions and sessions with your websites and applications. However, there still exist certain interactions that Google Analytics will not monitor and might also not be able to identify.
I believe every business owner and digital marketer should know about these. Therefore, in this article, we will discuss in detail when will Google Analytics be unable to identify sessions from the same user by default. To learn more about it, then continue reading.
What Is Google Analytics?
If you don’t know anything about Google Analytics or have not heard about it, then you are on the right page.
Google Analytics is an analytical data measurement and insight provider tool made by Google for online businesses. One of the primary functions of this tool is to provide insights regarding how users and customers enter your website. It also records data regarding what activities they conduct.
It tracks how many users have entered your website, what activities they do, and how long they use or stay on your site or application. All these measurable metrics are pretty important to growing your business. This is because these insights help you understand how well your website and applications are performing.
Various Metrics You Should Know About
If you are a digital marketer, then you should know about some metrics on Google analytics that you can see. These are:
- Account Dashboard: Here, you will get details about your Google account and see some general information related to your websites and applications.
- Property: This refers to your website or your application whose performance you wish to track.
- Tracking ID: Google assigns various unique tracking codes to your websites and applications, making them easier to identify.
- Conversion Rate: This rate defines how many entered your website or application on the ads and became potential customers.
- Source of Traffic: It shows the primary sources of traffic for your website or application, i.e., how they entered your website. This can be from referrals, link sharing, ads, and organic searches.
- Duration of Session: Sessions are regarded as the average time a user spends on your website or application.
- Bounce Rate: This refers to how many users have exited from your website soon as they entered a page (an indication of dissatisfaction).
- Keywords: Refers to the keywords that have helped users find your website and application through Google search.
- Organic Searches: These refer to how many users have entered your website or application after finding it on Google search results.
- Active Users: Refers to the number of users actively scrolling your web pages and using your application.
- User Events: Events refer to the actions of users, like where they click, how long they watch videos, download files, and more.
- User Segments: This refers to the general categorization of users based on their demography, age, gender, interests, background, and more.
When Will Google Analytics Be Unable To Identify Sessions From The Same User By Default?
In the section above, you learned about some of the metrics that Google analytics will show to you. However, there are still many metrics that it does not record and provide insight into.
If you are into digital marketing or publishing as an SEO expert, then you must know when will google analytics be unable to identify sessions from the same user by default.
Sometimes, Google will not be able to identify sessions from the same user when they open the same page from different browsers.
For example, if you open the same website on Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox at the same time, Google will be confused. Then, it will only calculate the session from the first browser you opened the web page from.
It is important to know this because this is an often asked question if you appear for SEO Certificate Examinations by Google.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions):
Some of the most frequently asked questions by readers are:
Ans- Whenever a user enters your website or uses your application, Google analytics starts its session timer. Therefore, being present on your website or your application is counted as a session by a user.
Ans- Yes, Google has placed some rules as to when a session will end automatically. According to Google Analytics, it will automatically end a session by default when the user is inactive for a period of more than 30 minutes while browsing the website or using the application. It will also end the user’s session when they leave the site or stops using the application.
Ans- According to the guidelines, the default session timeout duration of Google Analytics is 30 minutes. This means that if the users are inactive (not scrolling or browsing) on your website or application, Google Analytics will end the user’s sessions by default.
Ans- One of the free things that Google Analytics cannot collect data on is details on what the favorite website of the user is. This also includes which pages the user has marked as favorites, as a bookmark on their browsers.
Conclusion
Google Analytics is one of the best tools a digital marketer can use to measure the performance of their websites. It helps you understand what factors are responsible for bringing more traffic to your website. However, there are times when will google analytics be unable to identify sessions from the same user by default.
This happens when you open the same webpage from more than one browser on your device. During this time, only the session that started first gets recorded by Google analytics.
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Debamalya Mukherjee
