What is a session?

A session (or visit) is one stay on your website, from the first page opened until the visitor leaves or goes quiet. Example: someone reads three product pages and then closes the tab – that is one session with three pageviews. Sessions are the basis for bounce rate, pages per visit and conversion rate.

Definition

A session starts with the first pageview and ends after a period of inactivity. Several pageviews can belong to one session. In PureMetrix, a session with only one pageview counts as a bounce.

Why sessions matter

Sessions show how people behave, not just how many pages were loaded. Conversion rate per session is a common business KPI. Pages per session hint at how engaged readers are on content sites.

Do not confuse sessions with unique visitors. One person can create several sessions in a day.

Sessions without cookies

PureMetrix groups pageviews into visits on the server, without cookies or any ID stored on the visitor's device.

Compared with older cookie-based tools, session counts will differ. Agree on definitions before arguing about a few percent.

Staff traffic

Exclude your team so editing and preview sessions never land in client reports. Logged-in WordPress admins, Shopify staff, and staging hosts are the usual culprits.

Someone who researches in the evening and continues in the morning may count as two sessions. That is normal. Focus on clear landing pages first.

Idle time and overnight visits

If someone reads a guide at night and returns in the morning, that usually counts as two sessions because of the idle timeout. That is normal. Make your landing pages and goals clear first; debating how to merge sessions rarely brings more revenue while the landing page still confuses first-time visitors.