What is a “metric” in Google Analytics?

Metrics help you understand user behavior. They calculate how often something happens on a site, such as how the total number of users on a site or mobile app changes. Metrics can also be averaged; for example, the average number of pages viewed by the user on the site in one session. This is a widespread way to measure actions.

You can also configure Google Analytics to track conversion metrics, which are recorded when a user takes a desired action, such as, for example, the number of purchases or newsletter subscriptions.

Visitors (users)
Learn how to determine what users are looking for on your site.

A metric called “visitors” or “users” shows the number of unique users who have visited your site over a given time period. This metric is commonly used to determine the total number of your audience. You can segment your website’s users or mobile application into “new” and “permanent”.

Visits (sessions)
A visit, also known as a session, is defined as a consecutive activity period by a single user. By default, in Google Analytics, the session lasts until the user stops performing any actions on the site within 30 minutes. This is called the duration of the session. You can set the session duration in the Google Analytics settings.

Why should you adjust the session duration? Consider how different user interactions might be between text sites and video streaming sites.

On text sites, a user can leave the site by reading several pages of text. The time period for such users to take action on the site is rather short, so setting the session duration to 30 minutes would be appropriate.

Pageviews and events
With each visit or session, your users will perform one or more actions on the site pages. Google Analytics will automatically track activities such as page views. The pageview metric counts literally every pageview on a site. Google Analytics can also track other activities such as watching videos. These are called events and require additional configuration during implementation.

These are actions – page views and events that make a user’s session active for Google Analytics. Remember that by default, as soon as the user stops performing any actions on the page or does not perform events for more than 30 minutes, the user’s session will be closed.

Time-based metrics
It is very important to understand that all time-based metrics in Google Analytics depend on user activity. Google Analytics tracks when an action has taken place to calculate time metrics.

For example, to calculate the metric “visit duration”, Google Analytics counts the time of the first user action on your site from the last one. Remember: the action can be a pageview or, if you have more accurate metrics set up, an event.

To calculate the time on page metric, Google Analytics takes the time the page was visited and subtracts it from the start time of the next view. Again, if you have more complex metrics set up and use events, then Google Analytics will use the time of the last event on the page to calculate the “time on page”.

What is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics; It is a free-to-use web analysis tool that provides reports on their initiatives with your website returning to your website or mobile application. There is a paid version under the name Analytics 360.

Google Analytics is built on 4 basic components.

Data collection: Data javascript code snippets are refreshed in Google Analytics. In this line of code, the URL transfers the analytics to which URL you are logged in from the browser or device.

Data processing: The collected data is sent to Google’s servers and categorized.

Configuration: subject to analysis after zero processing. The data saved in the database cannot be changed again. For example, even if you remove the filter in your filtered account, you will not be able to access old data.

Reporting: It is the component that is collected and presented to Google Analytics users.

Metrics
Refers to the quantitative measurement of sessions and actions. They are numerical values. It gives how often things are done and how much. It also shows the averages.

Number of sessions that took place yesterday
Average basket amount of orders that took place last month.
Bounce rate of users coming to the website from Google Ads.

Google Analytics also allows you to create custom dimensions and metrics. For example, by using a special dimension, you can distinguish between users who are members of your website and those who are not.
Custom Metrics & Dimensions
Custom dimensions and metrics are displayed and used in Google Analytics reports just like your metrics and dimensions. You create one different metric and dimensions entirely by you. You can create custom dimensions, hit, session, user, and product scope. You can create metrics within the scope of hit and product.

For example, your Google Analytics account calculates the goal conversion rate metric with the formula number of goals / sessions completed.

By using custom metrics, you can create individual custom metrics for new users ‘goal completion rates or unique users’ goal completion rates and display them in your reports.