Total number of page visits

Indicator Number: 
21

Category: 

Logic Model Component: 

Data Type(s): 
Count
Short Definition: 

Captures the total number of “visits” or individual interactions with a website

Definition and Explanation (Long): 

This indicator captures the total number of “visits” or individual interactions with a website.
According to the Web Analytics Association’s web analytics definitions, a “visit” is an individual interaction with a website. If the individual leaves the website or does not take another action—typically requesting additional pageviews—on the site within a specified time, interval web analytics software considers the visit ended.

Data Requirements: 

Quantitative data from web analytics

Data Sources: 

Web analytics software such as Google Analytics, Piwik, or WebTrends

Frequency of Data Collection: 
Quarterly
Purpose: 
Visits represent the number of times users have gone to and then left a website. A visit can range from a few seconds to several hours, and a single visitor can log multiple visits to a page, even in the course of a single day.
Issues and Challenges: 
Different web analytics programs define a visit differently. In general, a visit begins when a visitor views the first page of a website and ends when a criterion set by the analytics program is met, such as if the visitor does not click anything for 30 minutes. In addition to representing the volume of traffic to a website, visit numbers are used to compute other common indicators, such as average visit duration and average page depth—the average number of pages viewed during a visit to a website. Some organizations may find it useful to further qualify this indicator as it relates to key intended users, such as visitors from specific countries or regions. As with Pageviews, the trend of total visits is more important than the raw numbers. And, while the total number of visits can provide insight into the total number of times people consulted a site, it cannot distinguish between repeat and one-time visitors.
Related Indicators: 
Indicators on web analytics: 19, 20, 22, 29, and 30
Resources: 

For more information about Web analytics, see Appendix 3 on p.83.

Indicator Snapshots: 

Since launching in February 2011, visits to the ICTforAg community website (ictforag.org) have grown steadily from 200 visits per month up to 1,000 visits per month, peaking at over 2,000 visits in January 2013.

During the month of April 2012, the K4Health website (www.k4health.org) received 60,371 visits, an average of 2,012 per day. In the 2012 calendar year, 22% (40,250) of visits to K4Health toolkits came from USAID family planning priority countries.

Pages in the Guide: 
40-41

Published Year: 

  • 2013
Last Updated Date: 
Wednesday, September 6, 2017