Are you looking to improve the performance and user experience of your website? Your page per session (PPS) rate is one of the most effective ways of doing that. Getting users to visit more pages and staying engaged for longer on your website can be a hugely beneficial for your businesses bottom line, so it’s important to understand how to increase your PPS. Here we will take a closer look at the best practises for increasing your PPS and how they can yield better results for your website. We’ll look at techniques to optimise your website, creating content that hooks your users, and the value of high-quality links. So let’s get started maximising your PPS and learning how to get more out of your website.

Quick Review

Pages per session, also known as pageviews per session, is a metric used to measure how many webpages on a website or web application are viewed during one visit or “session”. It provides insights about user engagement and website navigation patterns.

What is Pages Per Session?

Pages per session (PPS) is a metric that indicates the average number of pages that a user visits during a single visit to a website. It’s used as an indicator of how engaging a website experience is and helps to determine the overall health of the website. By understanding this metric, website owners can have a better understanding of how often users are interacting with their website and help them to develop strategies for increasing visitor engagement.

In terms of measuring performance, PPS can be an important factor in determining how successful the overall website experience is for visitors. Generally speaking, websites with higher pages per session tend to indicate more content engagement and subsequently higher conversion rates, as visitors remain engaged for longer periods of time. Conversely, those sites with lower numbers may indicate visitors’ boredom or dissatisfaction with the content being presented, which should prompt the need to assess and improve upon the content offering.

At first glance, one might think that having any number above 1 or 2 total pages per session would be a good thing – after all, it reflects user engagement and interest in your content. However, it’s also important to look at how users are navigating within your site after they land on an initial page. If you’re seeing high levels of PPS coupled with low levels of returning visitors, it might mean people are getting lost on the site and not finding what they’re looking for.

Ultimately, PPS is a helpful metric for assessing a website’s performance – but it should be looked at in combination with other metrics to gain a greater level of understanding about where improvements can be made. With an improved understanding of pages per session through Google Analytics and other analytics software, businesses can begin to optimise their websites to ensure maximum performance and success.

Now that we understand what pages per session is and why it’s important to assess its performance, let’s look at how we calculate it using Google Analytics in the following section.

Main Summary Points

Pages Per Session (PPS) is an important metric for assessing a website’s performance as it indicates how engaging the website experience is and can be used to determine the overall health of the website. Generally speaking, websites with higher pages per session tend to indicate more content engagement and higher conversion rates while those with lower numbers may indicate visitors’ boredom or dissatisfaction. When assessing PPS performance, it is necessary to take into account other metrics as well. With improved understanding of this metric through Google Analytics, businesses can begin to optimise their websites for maximum performance and success.

Pages Per Session Calculation Using Google Analytics

When reviewing the performance of your website, one metric you can measure is pages per session. Google Analytics is a popular tool for collecting and analysing website visitor data and allows you to calculate pages per session in order to better understand the success of your traffic.

In Google Analytics, pages per session can be calculated by dividing total page views by total sessions: Total Page Views/Total Sessions = Pages Per Session. To access this metric, log into your Google Analytics account and go to the “Behavior” menu. Once there, select “Site Content” and then choose “All Pages” from the drop down menu. Under the “Page Value” column, you will see an average value known as pageviews per session. This value gives you an indication of how visitors interact with your webpages.

Another way to calculate pages per session in Google Analytics is to use the “Audience Overview” report. In this report, you will find a section called AVG Pages/Session which shows a comparison between the past and current period of how much time was spent on average on each page of your website. You can also look at specific pages or segments using this report to see how they perform in terms of page views per session versus other pages on your site.

Using Google Analytics to track pages per session has its pros and cons. On one hand, it can give you valuable insights about user behaviour on your website and help you identify areas for improvement. On the other hand, it can be difficult to accurately interpret information due to errors in data collection or lack of user context that cannot be captured by analytics tools alone. As such, it is important to supplement this data with other sources in order to create a comprehensive picture of activity on your site.

By understanding how pages per session is calculated using Google Analytics, webmasters can gain valuable insights into their website’s performance and make informed decisions about improvements in content, design, speed, user experience, and more. With this knowledge, they can strive for higher performance goals that increase user engagement and revenue for their websites.

Now that we have gone over how pages per session can be calculated using Google Analytics, let’s move onto discussing calculation methods for other analytics platforms in the next section….

Pages Per Session Calculation Using Other Analytics Platforms

When calculating your website’s pages per session, it is essential to understand that different analytics platforms provide varying methods of calculation. Many other popular analytics platforms, such as Google Analytics, calculate pages per session by dividing total page views by the number of sessions during a specific timeframe. It should be noted that if a user view a single page multiple times in one session, those pageviews would still be counted as one for the purposes of this calculation.

Alternatively, some analytics platforms automatically assign a user to a new session after a specified period of time has passed without their activity. Furthermore, various plugins can be used to extend the default time limit set by the platform. This strategy ensures that the result more accurately reflects user engagement on a website and takes into account user behaviours such as revisiting or “bouncing” off of webpages.

Debate:

Utilising plugins to extend the default timeout period utilised by certain analytics platforms may not always yield accurate results when determining pages per session as users may change browsers or devices between visits, resulting in inaccurate data. On the other hand, using this extended timeout period ahead of the default value can provide invaluable insight into how users engage with content on longer durations and uncover preferences or trends amongst users that may have been previously overlooked.

By taking into account the variables associated with each analytics platform can help keep pages per session calculations accurate and meaningful for better understanding website performance. It is important to consider which platform will best fit your needs for achieving desired outcomes and objectives. With this in mind, what does pages per session tell us? The next section will discuss just that – what pages per session tells us about website performance and user engagement.

  • According to Similarweb, the average website page views per session is 1.9.
  • Google Analytics data shows that the average number of pageviews per session is 2.6.
  • Statista reported that in 2019 the mean pages per session on Computer was 2.6 and on Mobile was 1.7.

What Does Pages Per Session Tell Us?

Pages-per-session is an important metric for website performance, and it can give us insights into how visitors interact with our content and products. If a visitor views more than one page during each individual session, then it likely means that they are having a positive experience on the website. This indicates that the content or products being presented resonates with their interests, which can increase conversions and revenue. Alternatively, if a visitor only views one page before leaving, then we may need to reconsider certain aspects of our site and content to better engage the user.

When looking at the pages-per-session metric, it is useful to track different types of users. For example, we may find that first-time users don’t view as many pages per session compared to repeat visitors. In this case, it could indicate that our onboarding process needs improvement so that newcomers have an easier time navigating the site. On the other hand, we may see that pages-per-session increases after certain design updates, such as adding a top navigation menu or changing the homepage layout. In this case, it could be concluded that these updates have made our website easier to use and have resulted in improved engagement overall.

Understanding user interaction is essential in order to gain meaningful insights from pages-per-session. Every website has unique metrics and characteristics to consider when attempting to optimise pages per session average. By making note of trends within the data and discovering patterns in user behaviour, webmasters can learn which methods are most effective in increasing visits and keeping visitors engaged on their site.

In the next section, we will look at some best practises for understanding user interaction and identifying ways to increase page per session averages for better website performance.

Understanding User Interaction

Understanding User Interaction is an essential part of optimising website performance. Knowing how visitors interact with a website and what changes they engage in allows businesses to pinpoint areas of improvement. A user should have a clear path to find the information they need, the ability to easily make their desired changes, and the assurance their tasks will be completed quickly and efficiently.

To better understand user interaction, businesses must analyse page views, time on page, and click activity on the website. Carefully review these metrics to look for patterns in user behaviours and pinpoint any areas that are taking too long or are confusing. If certain elements are causing more confusion than understanding, then those can be modified or removed altogether. Additionally, by utilising A/B testing with different versions of a landing page design or button placement, businesses can identify which designs work best with different audiences, leading to improved user experience.

By understanding the insights offered from user interactions and making necessary adjustments, businesses can establish an environment that stimulates customer engagement and encourages users to explore all pages of the website for meaningful opportunities.

To maximise website performance and increase pages per session even further, it is important to remain vigilant for warning signs of poor user experience. The next section will discuss what constitutes as warning signs of poor user experience from customer’s interactions with a website.

Warning Signs of Poor User Experience

User experience is an important element for any website or application. Poor user experience can lead to diminished performance and a lower return on investment. Knowing how to identify the warning signs of poor user experience can help you address issues before they become overwhelming and negatively affect your website’s performance.

First, if users start abandoning your website sooner than normal, the pages per session might drop. This may be a sign that users are not finding the content they’re looking for quickly enough, or that your navigation isn’t intuitive enough for them to find what they want with ease. You should consider why the users are not sticking around longer, and make changes to incorporate better usability.

Another important warning sign is when users don’t take specific actions after landing on a page. There are often certain goals linked with specific pages, such as purchasing a product or signing up for a newsletter. If you’re expecting your visitors to take specific actions but they aren’t doing so, it could be due to poor design or confusing content. You should consider revamping your page design and simplifying its content to better draw attention and make it easier for site visitors to take the desired action.

You should also consider potential technical warnings signs such as slow page loads, bug issues, and broken links which are all indicators of poor user experience.

Overall, it’s important to actively monitor user experience on your website by continually evaluating the engagement metrics associated with it, such as pages per session. To address any warning signs of poor user experience quickly, staying informed through data analysis is essential in keeping user engagement high across various digital channels.

Ready for analysis? Pages per session offer an important source of information about how well different pages on your website perform, and can be used not only to measure success but also to improve upon areas where improvement is needed. In the next section we’ll look at how to use pages per session for data analysis.

Use of Pages Per Session for Data Analysis

Pages per session is a powerful metric that makes it easy to analyse the behaviour of users on your site. This metric can tell you how engaged visitors are with your content and gives you insight into the types of pages they’re looking at, how long they’re staying on each page, and any patterns in their overall behaviour. Knowing these things can help you identify opportunities to improve user experience and increase conversions.

For example, if you notice that visitors tend to bounce off your homepage after just a few seconds, perhaps there’s an issue with your navigation or the layout of the page. If you find that people look at multiple product pages, but rarely make a purchase, maybe you need to adjust pricing or provide additional information about the products.

Using Pages Per Session for data analysis also allows you to determine whether visitors are engaging in activities that move them further down the sales funnel. As more visitors travel further through the funnel and become customers, the metrics will begin to reflect those changes and allow you to adjust tactics accordingly.

Ultimately, Pages Per Session provides valuable insight into how users interact with your website and can be used as a powerful tool for data analysis. Analysing this metric alongside other analytical data will give you an even clearer picture of what’s working and what needs improvement on your website. This can ultimately lead to increased engagement, improved user experience and higher conversion rates.

FAQ

How is pages per session calculated?

Pages per session is calculated by dividing the total number of page views in a period of time (e.g. a day, week or month) by the total number of unique sessions during that same time period. For example, if you had 1000 page views in one day and 200 unique visitors, then your pages per session would be 5 (1000/200). This metric is important to measure because it shows how many pages the average user visits when they come to your website. A high number of pages per session means users are engaging with more content and spending more time on your website which can lead to higher conversion rates and better website performance.

What metrics are used to measure pages per session?

When measuring pages per session, the main metric used is the average number of pages viewed in each session. This is calculated by taking the total number of page views divided by total number of sessions or visits. Other metrics that can be used to measure pages per session include the amount of time a visitor spends on a page and the amount of content consumed during a visit. For example, measuring how many articles are read or videos watched during a visit can help paint an overall picture of how engaging a website truly is. Additionally, quantifying factors such as goal completion rate (GCR) and bounce rate can help identify which webpages are most successful at attracting visitors and driving them further down the sales funnel.

How does pages per session affect website performance?

Pages per session is an important metric for understanding the performance of a website. It measures the average number of pages a user visits during each visit to the site. By measuring the pages per session, it’s possible to see how users interact with content on a website and identify areas that can be improved upon.

Higher pages per session suggest that users are engaged with a website and are exploring its contents. This can have a direct and positive impact on website performance by increasing time spent on-site, reducing bounce rate, and improving goal or conversion rates. Additionally, if content is organised in an intuitive way, then pages per session can help pinpoint areas where content organisation may need to be reconsidered or reorganised.

On the other hand, lower pages per session may indicate that users aren’t finding what they want quickly enough, leading them to abandon the site without fully engaging. To increase this metric and improve website performance, website owners should consider making navigation simple by organising content logically, optimising page loading speeds and ensuring that search functions are easy to use.

Last Updated on April 15, 2024

E-commerce SEO expert, with over 10 years of full-time experience analyzing and fixing online shopping websites. Hands-on experience with Shopify, WordPress, Opencart, Magento, and other CMS.
Need SEO help? Email me for more info, at info@matt-jackson.com