Table of Contents
How are session ids generated?
Every time an Internet user visits a specific Web site, a new session ID is assigned. Closing a browser and then reopening and visiting the site again generates a new session ID.
How does Google Analytics determine a session?
Average session duration in Google Analytics is calculated as the total amount of time of all sessions during a given period divided by the total number of sessions during that same time. For example, if three visitors arrive at your website: Visitor #1 spent 100 seconds on your site.
What is the session ID in Google Analytics?
Session ID. Session ID is a random, unique string (GUID) which is scoped to the entire session. This means that all hits of the same session can be queried with the same ID.
Are sessions visits in Google Analytics?
Sessions in Google Analytics are defined as the total number of visits to your site — including both new and repeat visits. So that same person who visited your site 100 times on the same device is counted as one user, but 100 sessions.
How often should new session ids be generated?
E.g. Regenerate the session ID every 15 minutes for security sensitive content. Even in the case that a session ID is stolen, both the legitimate user’s and the attacker’s session will expire. In other words access by the user or the attacker will generate an obsolete session access error.
How is session ID sent to server?
Once the user is authenticated, the server creates the Session ID and sends it to the client (user) in the form of a cookie. This cookie is then subsequently used in requests the client sends to the server to identify himself among other users.
How does Google Analytics identify that a visit or session is from a return visitor return user )?
As we mentioned earlier, Google Analytics identifies a user by creating a randomly generated string for a Client ID field stored within a user’s browser cookie. GA can match and label sessions that come from the same browser on the same device and will recognize those sessions as coming from the same user.
How can a session in Google Analytics change?
By default, a session expires after 30 minutes of users’ inactivity. You can change this setting by changing the session timeout settings in your Google Analytics view. You can make a session expire after 3 minutes of users’ inactivity or after 3 hours of users’ inactivity.
How do I enable Google Analytics User ID?
Set up User-ID in your account
- Sign in to Google Analytics.
- Click Admin, and navigate to the property in which you want to implement User-ID.
- In the PROPERTY column, click Tracking Info > User-ID.
- Follow the steps outlined in the next sections.
Is session ID a tracking number?
Many application servers including ASP pages will use a unique session number to identify individuals currently on the site. And while this information doesn’t usually contain any historical tracking, it does provides an accurate way of identifying unique sessions.
What is the difference between a session and a user?
“A user is an individual person who has come to your site whereas a session represents one of those visits to your site,” says Mark Barrera of TrustRadius. “So, a person could come once or many times, and that wouldn’t increment the ‘user’ count but would increase the number of sessions.”
What is the difference between a visit and a session Google Analytics?
In web analytics, a session is either capped by exiting the website or by a period of user inactivity. Website Visits, also referred to as sessions, track the number of times a user interacts with your website. Repeat visits within a set time period are excluded.