Definition of Sessions (Visits) Changed in Google Analytics

Beginning today, there will be a change in how sessions are calculated in Google Analytics. Google believes this update will lead to a clearer understanding of website interactions.

What’s changing?

Currently, Google Analytics ends a session when:

• More than 30 minutes have elapsed between pageviews for a single visitor.
• At the end of a day.
• When a visitor closes their browser.

If any of these events occur, then the next pageview from the visitor will start a new session.

In the new model, Google Analytics will end a session when:

• More than 30 minutes have elapsed between pageviews for a single visitor.
• At the end of a day.
• When any traffic source value for the user changes. Traffic source information includes: utm_source, utm_medium, utm_term, utm_content, utm_id, utm_campaign, and gclid.

As before, if any of these events occur, then the next pageview from the user will be the start of a new session.

Add annotation for this update in Google Analytics

This change only applies for visits going forward from today, and your historical data will not change.

Google is bringing the definition of session in line with the common definition of a visit. If a visitor leaves your site and returns soon after with a different traffic source value, each visit will be measured with its own session.

Since Google Analytics will start new sessions for all new campaign information, sessions will now have the more accurate attribution information.

Additionally, by continuing a session when the user closes their browser for only a very short time, sessions will more accurately model a user’s engagement with the website.

Overall, this change may slightly increase the number of visits. According to Google, based on their research, most users will see less than a 1% change.

Even so, you’d do well to add an annotation in Google Analytics for this change today.

Post maintained by Anibal do Rosario

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