Which Kind Of Hits Does Google Analytics Track? What To Know

A hit is a specific interaction between a user and your website that is tracked by Google Analytics. These hits are created when the tracking code that you ... 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ShareThisPost! Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Telegram WhatsApp Email WhichKindsOfHitsDoesGoogleAnalyticsTrack?Answered GoogleAnalyticsisoneofthemostusefulanalyticstoolsavailabletomarketers.ThisisbecauseitisaGoogledevelopedtool,whichmeansthatoutofanyanalyticstoolyoucoulduse,itwillunsurprisinglybeoneofthemosteffectiveforhelpingyouimproveyoursearchrankingsonGoogle’ssearchengine. NottomentionthatGoogleAnalyticsisfreetouse.ThewaythatGoogleAnalyticscollectsdataisbytracking“hits.”Asitcollectsthesehits,itanalyzesthem,providingyouwiththemetricsyouneed.ThefollowingisabreakdownofthetypesofhitsthatGoogleAnalyticswilltrack,therebyprovidingyouwithabetterunderstandingofthetool’scapabilitiesandhowtheycanbenefityourmarketingefforts. WhatIsConsideredAGoogleAnalyticsHit? AhitisaspecificinteractionbetweenauserandyourwebsitethatistrackedbyGoogleAnalytics.Thesehitsarecreatedwhenthetrackingcodethatyouplaceoneachpageistriggeredbythebehaviorofauser.Theinteractiondataisrecordedandpackagedintoa“hit”thatisthensenttoGoogleAnalytics.Whenitcomestouserinteractions,themostbasiconeisthepageload. HowPageLoadWorks ThefollowingarethestepstakentorecordapageloadasahittobesenttoGoogleAnalytics: PageLoadMeasurementThePageLoadTimereferstotheaverageamountoftimethatittakesforwebpagestoload,fromthemomenttheuserclicksonthelinktothepagetothemomentthatthepagehasfinishedloadingintheirbrowser.AnalyticsCodeIsActivatedThemomentthepageloads,thetrackingcodeonthatpageistriggered.Thetrackingcodecancollectdatafromanumberofmainsources,includingtheuser’sHTTPrequest(whichincludesinformationsuchasthehostname,thereferrer,andthebrowserlanguage),thebrowser/system(whichincludesinformationsuchasscreenresolution,Javasupport,Flashsupport,andmore),first-partycookies(whichincludesinformationsuchassessions,source,andmore),andDoubleClickcookies(whichincludesinformationsuchasdemographicsandinterests).KeepinmindthatDoubleClickcookiescanonlybeusedasasourceifdisplayfeaturesareenabled.DataIsGatheredAllofthedatacollecteduponthepageloadwillthenbesent,packagedasahit,totheGoogleAnalyticsservers.Thehitisdisplayedasalonglistofparametersattachedtoasingle-pixelimagerequest.It’sthenprocessed,afterwhichitwillbeavailableinyourreports. TypesOfHitsGoogleAnalyticsTrack ThefollowingareafewofthedifferenttypesofhitsthatGoogleAnalyticswilltrack: PageviewHit –Thisreferstoeverytimeapageisviewed,regardlessofwhetheravisitorhasbeenonthatpagepreviously. ScreenviewHit –Screenviewsaresimilartopageviews.However,whereaspageviewsoccurwithinabrowser,screenviewsoccurwithinanapp.Bytrackingscreenviews,youcanseewhatcontentisbeingviewedbyuserswithinyourappaswellashowtheyarenavigatingbetweendifferentcontent. EventHit –Eventhitsrefertointeractionsonyourwebpagesthataremeasuredseparatelyfromyourpageviews.Forexample,ifauserclicksalink,submitsaform,playsavideo,ordownloadssomethingononeofyourwebpages,itwillbetrackedasaneventhit. SocialInteractionHit –Socialinteractionhitsrecordallsocialinteractionsmadeonyourwebpages.Forexample,ifauserlikesorsharescontentonyourwebpageusingoneofyoursocialsharebuttons,itwillberecordedasasocialinteractionhit. E-commerceHit –E-commercehitsrecordinteractionsthatoccuronyoure-commercepage,suchaswhentheuserplacesanitemintheirshoppingcartorwhentheycheckout,finalizingapurchase. UserTimingHits –Usertiminghitstrackhowlongittakesforcertainactionstobecompleted;forexample,howlongittakesforapagetoload,howlongittakesforimagestoload,orhowlongittakesforyourpagetorespondtocertainbuttonclicks. ExceptionHit –Exceptionhitstrackanycrashesorerrorsthatoccuronyoursite. DataSentBasedOnTypeOfHit Thefollowingisabreakdownofthetypeofdatathat’stransferredtoGoogleAnalyticsforeachtypeofhitandthemetricsthattheypopulate: PageviewHit Onlypageviewhitsaresentbydefaulteverytimeauser’spageloads. (*markedasacompulsoryparameter) ClientIDDocumentlocationDocumenttitleHittypeOtherbrowservariablesPropertyIDProtocolversion MetricsPopulated UsersSessionsPageviewsPageURLPageTitleScreenResolutionBrowserLanguageOperatingSystem Thefollowingarethemetricspopulatedbypageviewhits: BrowserlanguageOperatingsystemPagetitlePageURLPageviewsScreenresolutionSessionsUsers ScreenviewHit(ForApps) ScreenviewhitsaresentonlyifyouhaveGoogleAnalyticssetupforyourapp. DataSent Screenviewhitssendthefollowingdata: AppIDAppInstallerIDAppnameAppversionClientIDHittypePropertyIDProtocolversionScreenname MetricsPopulated Metricspopulatedinclude: AppIDAppinstallerIDAppnameAppversionScreennameScreenviewsScreens/sessionUniquescreenviewsUsers EventHit Customcodingwillberequiredtosendeventhits.Ifyou’reusingGTMtofireyouranalyticstags,youwillneedtocreateauniversalanalyticseventtaginordertosendeventhits. DataSent Eventhitssendthefollowingdata: ClientIDEventactionEventcategoryEventlabelEventvalueHitTypePropertyIDProtocolversion MetricsPopulated Metricspopulatedbyeventhitsincludethefollowing: AveragevalueEventactionEventcategoryEventlabelEventvalueTotaleventsUniqueevents EcommerceHit Therearetwowaysthatyoucantracke-commercedataonyourwebsite.Youcandosothroughe-commercetracking,whichsendsdatathroughe-commercetransactionhitsanditemhits,oryoucandosothroughenhancedecommercetracking,whichsendsdatathroughpageviewhitsoreventhits.However,youcan’timplementbothofthesemethodsconcurrentlyforthesameproperty. DataSent Whenusingnormalecommercetracking,transactionhitswillsendthefollowingtypesofdata: ClientIDCurrencycodeHittypePropertyIDProtocolversionTransactionaffiliationTransactionIDTransactionrevenueTransactionshippingTransactiontax Thefollowingisthetypeofdatasentthroughanitemhit: ClientIDCurrencycodeHittypePropertyIDProtocolversionItemcode/SKUItempriceItemquantityItemvariation/categoryTransactionID MetricsPopulated Someofthemetricspopulatedincludethefollowing: AveragequantityAveragepriceQuantityProductProductcategoryProductpurchasesProductrevenueProductSKURevenueShippingTaxTransactionIDUniquepurchases SocialInteractionHit Socialinteractionhitsrequirecustomsetuptoimplement.TheywillpopulateyourGoogleAnalyticssocialreports. DataSent Thedatasentbysocialinteractionhitsincludethefollowing: ClientIDHittypePropertyIDProtocolversionSocialactionSocialnetworkSocialtarget MetricsPopulated Metricspopulatedinclude: SocialactionSocialnetworkSocialtarget UserTimingHit UserTiminghitsrequirecustomsetuptoimplementandwillpopulatetheUserTimingreports. DataSent UserTiminghitssendthefollowingtypesofdata: ClientIDHittypePropertyIDProtocolversionHittypeUsertimingcategoryUsertiminglabelUsertimingtimeUsertimingvariable MetricsPopulated Metricspopulatedinclude: AverageusertimingTimingcategoryTiminglabelTimingvariableUsertimingsample ExceptionHit Exceptionhitshelpyoutrackcrashesanderrorsthatoccuronyourwebsiteorapp. DataSent Thefollowingarethetypesofdatasentbyexceptionhits: ClientIDExceptiondescriptionExceptionisfatal?HittypePropertyIDProtocolversion MetricsPopulated Metricspopulatedbyexceptionhitsincludethefollowing: CrashesCrashes/screenExceptionsExceptionsperscreenviewExceptions/screenFatalexceptionsFatalexceptionsperscreenview HowDoYouViewTheHitData? ItisnotdifficulttoseethehitsthatGoogleAnalyticsiscapturing.Thereareacoupleofwaysthatyoucanviewyourhitdata,buttheeasiestistosimplygotothenetworktabofyourbrowser.Fromthere,youcanopenthetestpagefromyourwebsitetoseewhathitsarebeingcaptured.Onceyou’vedonethis,filtertherequestbyentering“collect.”YoushouldseetheGETrequestbydefault,whichwilltellyouwhattypeofhitisbeingcaptured.YourotheroptionistodownloadtheGoogleAnalyticsdebuggeradd-on,whichwillprovidehitdatainformationinyourbrowserconsole. HitLimits AlthoughGoogleiscapableofcollectingamassiveamountofdata,theamountofhitsitcancaptureislimited.ThefollowingareafewofGoogleAnalytics’hitlimits: Property-LevelLimitsIfyou’renotusingGoogleAnalytics36010millionhits/month/propertyOnceyou’vereachedyourlimityou’llreceiveanemailnotificationfromGooglewithanofferforanupgrade.Ifyou’reusingthefreeversionofGoogleAnalytics,thenyouwillbelimitedtocapturing10millionhitsamonthperproperty(whichisthewebsite,blog,ormobileappassociatedwithauniquetrackingID).IfyoupayforGoogleAnalytics360,youwon’thavetheselimitations.GoogleAnalytics360isanenterprisesolutionthatstartsat$150,000/year. User&SessionLevelLimitsIfyou’reusinggtag.js,analytics.js,iOsSDK,AndroidSDK,ormeasurementprotocol,thelimitwouldbeasthefollowing:200,000hitsperuserperday500hitspersessionIfyouhappentouseanylegacylibraryorga.jsthenthelimitis:500hitspersessionOnceyou’vereachedthelimitforanyoftheselibrariesthenthehitswillnotbeprocessed.Ifyou’reusingalibrarytrackersuchasgtag.js,analytics.js,iOSSK,AndroidSDK,ormeasurementprotocol,thenyouwillbelimitedtocapturing200,000hitsdailyperuserandto500hitspersession.Ifyou’reusingga.jsoralegacylibrary,thenyou’llbelimitedto500hitspersession.It’sworthnotingthatonceyoureachthelimitforanyoftheselibraries,thenGoogleAnalyticswillnotprocessanyadditionalhits. TimingHitLimitsThetiminghitsalsoincludesitespeedhits(forgtag.js/analytics.js/ga.js).Thesehitshaveseparatelimitsasfollows.10,000or1%ofthetotalnumberofpageviewsprocessed(whicheverisgreater)/Property/Day.Forlowerhitcounts,limitationsareasbelow:Timinghitsincludespeedlimithitsforanalytics.js,ga.js,andgtag.js.Thesetypesofhitsarelimitedtothegreaterofeither10,000oronepercentofthenumberofpageviewsthatareprocessedperpropertyperday.Thelimitationsforlowerhitcountsincludethefollowing: ConcurrentHitLimitsIfyouaresendingtoomanyhitsatonce,thesearelimitsimposedfortheseconcurrenthitstopreventclientsfromsendingdatatooquickly.Eachlibrarytrackerhaslimitstosenddataconcurrentlyasfollowsgtag.js&analytics.js–20hits/trackerobjectthatarereplenishedatarateof2hitspersecond.(excepte-commercehits)ga.js–10hits/trackerobjectthatisreplenishedatarateof1hitpersecond(onlyeventhit)AndroidSDK–60hits/appinstancethatisreplenishedatarateof1hitevery2seconds(excepte-commercehits)iOSSDK–60hits/propertythatarereplenishedatarateof1hitevery2seconds(excepte-commercehits)Therearesomelimitstohowmanyhitscanbesentatonetimeaswell.Thispreventsclientsfromsendingdatatoofast.Thefollowingarethelimitsontheamountofdatathateachlibrarytrackercansendatanygiventime: AndroidSDKislimitedto60hitsperappinstance.It’sreplenishedataonehitpereverytwosecondrate(notincludinge-commercehits).iOSSDKislimitedto60hitsperproperty.Theyarereplenishedatonehitpereverytwoseconds(notincludinge-commercehits).ga.jsislimitedto10hitspertrackerobject.Theyarereplenishedataonehitpersecondrate(onlyevenhits).gtag.jsandanalytics.jsarelimitedto20hitspertrackerobject.Theyarereplenishedattwohitspersecondrate(notcountinge-commercehits). CommonConfusions Oneofthemostcommonthingspeopleareconfusedaboutisthedifferencebetweenhits,pageviews,andsessions.Thereareseveraldifferentkindsofhits(aspreviouslyexplained)andbothpageviewsandsessionsaretypesofhits.However,theyarenotthesame: Whatarepageviews?Pageviewsonlyrefertothenumberofpageviewhitsthataresentforthatparticularpage.Eachpageviewaccountsforeachtimethatpageisvisited. Whatarethesessions?Asessionisagroupofhitsthattakeplacewithinaspecifictimeframe.Asessionaccountsforthetimethatasingleuserspendsexploringyoursiteuntiltheyleaveorbecomeinactive. NatureOfTheAnalyticsTool AlthoughtherearesomelimitationstothefreeversionofGoogleAnalytics,itisstillextremelycapableofprovidingincrediblyvaluabledatathatyoucanusetotrackimportantwebsitemetrics,therebyallowingyoutomoreeffectivelymeasureyourwebsite’sperformance.However,you’llwanttoknowwhattolookforandwhattypeofdataeachhitisprovidingyouwithinordertogetthemostoutofGoogleAnalytics.GoogleAnalyticsisn’tnecessarilyaone-size-fits-allsolution,whichmeansthatyou’llwanttotweakthetool’scustomsettingsbasedonthedatathatyouneed. Exceededyourlimit?Contactusandwe’llbegladtohelp. 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