Users, sessions and page views are three of the most important metrics used by web analytics platforms such as Google Analytics.
Together, they help you understand who is visiting your website, how often they visit and what content they are looking at whilst they are there.
If you’re new to website analytics, these terms can sound technical. In reality, they’re quite simple once you understand how they work together.
Insight Owl uses these metrics within the Website Traffic report to help you understand how your website is performing over time.
What are users?
Users represent the individual people visiting your website.
Think of users as the “who” behind your website traffic.
If one person visits your website five separate times, they are generally counted as a single user.
For example:
- Sarah visits your website on Monday.
- Sarah visits again on Wednesday.
- Sarah visits once more on Friday.
Insight Owl and Google Analytics would typically count Sarah as one user because she is the same individual returning multiple times.
User numbers help you understand the size of your audience and how many unique people your website is reaching.
Why are users important?
Users help answer a fundamental marketing question.
How many people are discovering your website?
An increase in users often suggests:
- Improved search visibility
- Successful marketing campaigns
- Growing brand awareness
- Increased audience reach
Whilst user numbers alone don’t tell the whole story, they provide an excellent indicator of overall website growth.
What are sessions?
Sessions represent individual visits to your website.
Think of sessions as the “visits” that occur on your website.
Unlike users, a single person can generate multiple sessions.
For example:
- Sarah visits your website on Monday.
- Sarah returns on Wednesday.
- Sarah visits again on Friday.
This would typically be recorded as:
- 1 User
- 3 Sessions
A session usually begins when someone arrives on your website and ends after approximately 30 minutes of inactivity.
If they leave and return later, a new session will normally be created.
Why are sessions important?
Sessions help you understand how frequently people interact with your website.
A high number of sessions compared to users often suggests visitors are returning repeatedly.
This can indicate:
- Strong audience engagement
- Useful content
- Repeat interest in your products or services
- Good brand recognition
Sessions provide valuable insight into visitor behaviour beyond simply measuring audience size.
What are page views?
Page views represent every individual page that is viewed on your website.
Think of page views as the “what” people are looking at.
Every time a page loads on a visitor’s screen, a page view is recorded.
For example:
A visitor lands on your homepage and then navigates to:
- Your About page
- Your Services page
- Your Contact page
This would generate:
- 1 User
- 1 Session
- 4 Page Views
One page view for each page that was loaded.
Page views help you understand how much content visitors consume whilst browsing your website.
Why are page views important?
Page views provide insight into visitor engagement.
Generally speaking, more page views can suggest:
- Visitors are exploring your website
- Content is relevant
- Navigation is effective
- Users are finding information they need
However, page views should always be considered alongside other metrics.
A high number of page views isn’t automatically good if visitors aren’t converting into enquiries, leads or sales.
Context is always important.
How do users, sessions and page views work together?
The easiest way to understand these metrics is to look at a simple example.
Imagine one visitor arrives on your website.
They view:
- Homepage
- Services page
- Pricing page
They then leave.
This would be recorded as:
- 1 User
- 1 Session
- 3 Page Views
Now imagine they return the next day and view two more pages.
The totals would become:
- 1 User
- 2 Sessions
- 5 Page Views
The user remains the same person.
The session count increases because they returned for another visit.
The page view count increases because they viewed additional content.
Which metric is most important?
There isn’t a single metric that matters most.
Each tells a different part of the story.
Users tell you how many people are visiting.
Sessions tell you how often they visit.
Page views tell you what they looked at.
When analysed together, they provide a much clearer picture of website performance than any single metric on its own.
This is why Insight Owl presents all three metrics within the Website Traffic report.
Where can you find these metrics inside Insight Owl?
You’ll find users, sessions and page views within the Website Traffic report.
By default, Insight Owl analyses the previous 12 months of data, although you can select custom date ranges if required.
The report also compares these metrics against the previous period, helping you quickly understand whether performance is improving or declining.
Alongside the data, Insight Owl generates a plain English summary explaining the trends and highlighting any significant changes.
What should you do next?
The next time you review your Website Traffic report, don’t focus on just one metric.
Look at users, sessions and page views together.
Understanding the relationship between these three measurements will give you a much clearer picture of how visitors interact with your website and help you make better marketing decisions based on real data.