The Traffic panel in Analytics provides essential data about website traffic and user engagement through three key performance indicators (KPIs):

• Unique visitors: Estimated number of individual visitors tracked via a 2-year browser cookie
• Visits: Individual browsing sessions tracked by a 30-minute cookie
• Page views: Total number of actual page requests received

Viewing Traffic Data

Access traffic statistics by opening Analytics and selecting Traffic. Filter results by date range from January 2014 onward. View percentage changes for each KPI based on selected timeframes.

Understanding the Metrics

Unique Visitors:

• Measures actual audience size and loyal readership
• New cookie created when visitors clear browser data or use different browsers

Visits:

• Represents single browsing sessions within 30 minutes
• Sessions reset after 30 minutes of inactivity or at midnight
• Useful for measuring site engagement

Page Views:

• Counts all full page loads, including:
  • Unlinked sections
  • Collection items
  • Password-protected pages (post-access)
• Excludes image URLs, scripts, and 404 pages

Data Visualization

Line Graph:

• Shows trends over time for selected KPI
• Hover functionality for specific date data
• Adjustable time scales based on available data

Visit Analysis Charts:

• Device type distribution (mobile, desktop, tablet)
• Traffic sources
• Browser usage
• Operating system breakdown

Index Page Tracking

• Subpage access from main Index: counts as Index Page view
• Direct subpage URL access: counts as individual page view

Chrome "Do Not Track" Impact

When enabled:

• Each page view counts as new visitor
• View counts remain accurate
• Unique visitors and visit data may appear inflated
• May affect Direct traffic numbers

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