Google Analytics posts, let’s continue from where we left off at our previous post, and in this context, let’s first examine some of the terms and actions we frequently refer to, starting with key metrics.
I’ll make every effort to keep this content as up to date as possible. Therefore, it will be helpful for you to periodically check for update notes.
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Basic Google Analytics Metrics and Explanations
You can test or compare these operations using your own data. For this purpose, I recommend creating a custom report under Customization > Custom Reports. This way, you can easily combine and analyze the metrics. On the other hand, I’ll also share with you information about which sections and how to access the relevant data. Following these steps, you can then review your own data accordingly.
Average Session Duration
Average session duration is the total duration (in seconds) of all sessions on your website, divided by the total number of sessions. The duration of each session is calculated differently depending on whether an engagement (interaction) occurs on the final page of a session. Such engagements may include video playback, clicks, scroll actions, etc. However, if the opt_noninteraction parameter is applied to an event, that event will no longer be counted as an engagement. 1
Formula - 1
Avg. Session Duration = Total Session Duration / Total SessionsYou can review the session duration details on the Session Duration, Average page.
Let’s test the formula above. To do so, we can proceed by creating a New Custom Report. Follow the steps: Customization > Custom Reports.
Let’s perform a test for disqus.com / referral (referral traffic) and compare it against the average session duration shown in the table below.
For the referral traffic with a session duration of 00:09:48 (588 seconds) and 4 sessions, when we calculate the average in seconds, we get 588 / 4 = 147 seconds. By comparing this value with the corresponding column (average session duration), we observe that we arrive at the same result of 00:02:27 (147 seconds).
Let me add one more note to this heading. By following the steps: Audience > Behavior > Engagement, you can view session duration values grouped (for example, by range such as 0–10 seconds).
Average Time Spent on Page
Average time spent on page refers to the average duration visitors spend on a particular page, rather than the average session duration. Instead of analyzing the entire site, it focuses specifically on a single designated page.
Formula - 2
Average Time on Page = Time Spent on Page / (Pageviews – Exits)IMPORTANT RULES:
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Let’s test the formula above using traffic data from google / organic for a specific page. Our values will be as follows: time spent on page: 01:33:00 (5580 seconds), page views: 29, and exit count: 26. Let’s plug these values into the formula.
Average Time Spent on Page = 5580 / (29 - 26) = 1860 seconds (00:31:00)
Behavior > Site Content > All Pages — by following these steps, you can easily track the average time spent on each page.
Bounce Rate
Bounce Rate is one of the more difficult metrics to understand. Therefore, I will first attempt to define the Bounce metric as simply as possible. Bounce refers to single-page sessions. When a user arrives at a page via a search result or through social media, they do not view any other page. As a result, during the session, only one page is viewed. If the user leaves the page, this is considered a bounce. The Bounce Rate is calculated by dividing the total number of single-page sessions by the total number of sessions. Single-page sessions have a duration of zero seconds because, after the first interaction, there is no subsequent interaction for Google Analytics to calculate session duration. This is because Google Analytics calculates session duration based on the time between interactions (events).
If a website’s performance is evaluated based on visitors viewing multiple pages during a session, a high bounce rate may be considered a negative indicator. However, this does not apply to a landing page.
Formula - 3
Bounce Rate = Bounce Count / Sessions
Bounce Rate(%) = Bounces / SessionsLet’s verify the above formula for a page we have selected.
Let the number of immediate exits for the selected page be 141, and the number of sessions be 212. The calculation yields a value of 0.66509, which corresponds to a percentage of %66,51. In other words, 66.51% of the sessions on this page have only viewed this page and then left without navigating to any other page.
Percentage of New Sessions
We can calculate the percentage of new sessions by dividing the number of new users by the total number of sessions. If your website receives visitors through advertisements, you can observe that the target URLs used in your ad campaigns have a higher proportion of new users.
Formula - 4
Percentage of New Sessions = New Users / Total Sessions
% New Sessions = New Users / SessionsLet’s verify this formula using our custom report.
Assume that 197 users visited the selected page, and the total number of sessions across all users is 234. In this case, we get 197/234 = 0.8418, resulting in a value of %84.19.
Events / Sessions with Events
Events / Sessions with Events provides the total number of events (such as video plays, button clicks, etc.) per session. Sessions with events refer to the total number of sessions/visits in which at least one event has been triggered.2
Events / Sessions with Events = Total Events / Sessions with Events
Event / Session with Events = Total Events / Sessions with EventsLet’s verify this formula using a selected page.
The total number of interactions on the page is 26, and the number of sessions occurring specifically on this page is 10. The result obtained through the formula will be 26/10=2.6. Therefore, the interaction rate specific to this page within sessions will be 2.6.