A session represents a single visit to your website. It begins when a user lands on your site and ends when they leave or after a period of inactivity (typically 30 minutes).
Session vs user
- User: A unique visitor (may have multiple sessions)
- Session: A single visit (may include multiple page views)
- Page view: A single page load
What triggers a new session
- First visit to the site
- 30+ minutes of inactivity
- New campaign parameters
- Different browser or device
Session metrics
- Session duration: How long the session lasted
- Pages per session: Average page views per session
- Engaged sessions: Sessions with meaningful interaction
- Session start/end: Entry and exit pages
Google Analytics 4 sessions
In Google Analytics 4, a session is measured slightly differently:
- Uses session_start event
- 30-minute timeout by default
- Can span midnight
How VitalSentinel handles this
VitalSentinel is your website's revenue insurance for session-level visibility. Web Analytics tracks sessions cookielessly, auto-detects Shopify and WooCommerce so you can see which sessions actually convert into orders, and flags abnormal drops in session volume or duration. You find out in hours, not weeks, when sessions stop turning into revenue.
Related Terms
Bounce Rate
The percentage of visitors who navigate away from a site after viewing only one page, without taking any action.
Google Analytics
A web analytics service by Google that tracks and reports website traffic, user behavior, and conversion data.
Page Views
A metric that counts the total number of times a specific page on a website has been viewed by visitors.
Unique Visitors
A metric that counts the number of distinct individuals who visit a website during a specific time period, regardless of how many times they visit.