{"id":4394,"date":"2011-08-29T02:29:50","date_gmt":"2011-08-29T09:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaushik.net\/avinash\/google-analytics-visits-metric-change-implications-opportunities\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T15:30:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T22:30:59","slug":"google-analytics-visits-metric-change-implications-opportunities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaushik.net\/avinash\/google-analytics-visits-metric-change-implications-opportunities\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Analytics Visits Metric: Change. Implications. Opportunities."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"symmetry\"Recently the Google Analytics team changed the way sessionization algorithm. In lay terms… how the start, duration and end of a Visit is computed.<\/p>\n

A minor version of the butterfly effect occurred, one small change in a part of the system caused a few other smaller changes in other parts of the system. Some people freaked out. Others wondered what the fuss was all about. Still others wondered what they were going to eat for lunch. :)<\/p>\n

If you were in the first two categories this blogpost (delightful video actually!) is for you.<\/p>\n

Some of you know that I am the co-Founder of Market Motive, and also lead the Web Analytics Master Certification<\/a> course (which is one of eight courses in Internet Marketing certification<\/a>). The course is a structured program that teaches the gamut of web analytics. You start at the beginning (I know!) and evolve to an Analysis Ninja-hood.<\/p>\n

Here’s the rough path: Web Analytics 2.0 immersion > Adv KPI analysis techniques > Segmentation (Oh I love this so) > Actionable reports > Surveys > Testing > Multi-Channel analytics > Competitive Intelligence > Dissertation > (If you pass the rigorous evaluation) > Certification.<\/p>\n

A key strategy for having the most kick butt course in the world is that it is astonishingly fresh. In addition to the structured curriculum we do weekly hour and half calls. Guess what the latest video in the Web Analytics Master Certification course was? Did you guess GA Visits changes? Ding, ding, ding!<\/p>\n

I wanted to make an exception and share that video with all of you. It will hopefully give you an idea of the love and unique approach that Market Motive brings to teaching, along with sharing some very critical context and guidance on this important issue.<\/p>\n

This important video covers:<\/p>\n

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00:00 – 02:14<\/strong> Intro. Which metrics are impacted?<\/p>\n

02:14 – 09:20<\/strong> Context. How do web analytics tools currently compute visits? And if you use Omniture, WebTrends, CoreMetrics, Piwik, what important question should you ask your vendor.<\/p>\n

09:20 – 12:45<\/strong> Impact. Estimating how much the change impacts you! Details, and grab the custom report.<\/p>\n

12:45 – 17:50<\/strong> The change. Clear articulation of what the change actually was. The new sessionization algorithm.<\/p>\n

17:50 – 21:48<\/strong> The implications. With examples that impact on Average Page Views per Visit, Bounce Rates, % New Visits, % Returning Visits.<\/p>\n

21:48 – 31:20<\/strong> Multi-Channel Funnels. Impact, new sweet yummy implications, and digital media attribution analysis. The one report that will probably cause you to hyper-ventilate a little bit.<\/p>\n

31:20 – 37:02<\/strong> Closing thoughts. My four point guidance on the implications and opportunities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

There is one important thing the video does not cover. At the time Google Analytics switched over to the new sessionization algorithm, coincidently a bug also impacted GA users data. The bug, temporarily, made it seem as if the impact was crazy because of the sessionization change. This bug was identified, data was fixed, that “craziness” is gone. Hence I’m skipping covering that.<\/p>\n

Okay are you raring to go? Sink your teeth? Jump into the knowledge pond?<\/p>\n

Here’s the video:


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