Below are some examples of a hit on Google Analytics to help you to better understand what they are.
What Is Hit In Google Analytics?
Google defines a ‘hit’ as an interaction that causes data to be sent to Google Analytics.
This happens each time the tracking code is triggered. This is usually triggered by certain behaviors that users engage in.
For instance, if a user loads a page on a site, this will count as a hit. When this happens, Google Analytics will record this activity.
User interactions of this kind are sent over to Google Analytics and they all count as a hit. When you view the hit, you will be able to see the user interaction data that is associated with it.
What Counts As A Hit?
One of the main user interactions that we see is the page load. This is the process that occurs when a user goes onto your page.
There are several different types of hits that will give Google Analytics different types of data. You will find all of these different reports on Google Analytics.
You Will Find The Following Hits:
Pageview hit
Event hit
Social interaction hit
Screenview hit
Ecommerce hit
Exception hit
User timing hit
What Are Hits Categorized As?
Hits fall into one of two categories. These are interaction hits and non-interaction hits.
Interaction hits are taken into account when we are looking at sessions, this is explained below. Any non-interaction hit is not counted as being a part of the session.
What Is Happening Behind The Scenes During A Hit?
When someone goes into a webpage, this triggers something to happen behind the scenes on Google Analytics.
Follow These Steps To See What Occurs:
The Code On Your Site Is Triggered
When someone opens your site, the analytics code that is on your website will be activated. This is activated when the page is loaded.
When this happens, certain information will be gathered.
This will include information about the geography of the user, what they went on to do on the site, and whether they purchased anything or signed up to anything.
Data Is Sent To Google Analytics Servers
The next stage is when the Hit is sent to Google Analytics servers. The hit is the collected data, and this information is sent over in the form of a GIF.
This information is then processed and it will later become available to you. You will find this information in your reports that are published by Google Analytics.
What Is A Session On Google Analytics?
A session refers to the number of hits or user interactions that take place in a certain period of time on your site. If a user is inactive for a period of time – usually 30 minutes – then the next use of the site will be considered a separate session.
If you return within this time frame, it is considered the same session.
So, a session refers to a group of user interactions that happen during a certain time period. Only interaction hits contribute to a session, if a non-interaction hit is recorded, this will not count towards the session.
Every time a user loads a page on your site, this will be recorded and this is considered to be a hit.
Tips VS Pageviews VS Sessions
Often hits, page views and sessions become confused. It is important to understand the differences between these things.
Hits send data to Google Analytics. This can be done in different ways. This is different from a pageview. A page view refers to the number of pageview hits that have been recorded for a certain page on the site.
This is simply a subcategory for a hit type.
Sessions refer to a group of interactions with the site. A session is the number of people that have visited your site within a certain time period.
This is a very simplified explanation of the differences between hits, page views and sessions.
Other Features Of Google Analytics
Traffic Reporting
Google Analytics allows you to measure the amount of traffic that your site sees.
You can see the duration of sessions, the number of new visitors, the location of visitors and many more things.
Third-Party Referrals
Google Analytics also tells you about the third party traffic that you are receiving.
It will show you where your visitors came from, whether they are from social media networks or a search engine.
Audience Information
You will also be able to see information about the people who are visiting your site.
You will see things like their age, gender and other details. You can even see where they are accessing the site from, their language and the country they are in.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics is a tool that is provided by google which is used to track the actions that users make on a site.
It will tell you the number of visitors that have used the site, the number of page views, and the number of times people have attempted to go onto the site and bounced back.
It is a free tool and is very useful for analyzing the data for the use of your site.
This can help you to understand the way that your site is being used to help you to tailor it to your users more effectively.
Google Analytics is free to use, however, there is an option to pay for more features.
Final Thoughts
A hit on Google Analytics refers to a user interaction that will send data back to Google Analytics.
You can find the hit data for your site easily, and it will provide you with a wealth of information.
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