Internet
Marketing
-- Hits vs. Visits
The term “hits” means absolutely nothing. A “hit” is a file downloaded from the Internet. So if you visit a page that has 10 graphics on it your visit counts as 11 hits. One page downloaded and 10 graphics. If the page had 20 graphics your visit would count as 21 hits. So, you can see hit totals are meaningless numbers.
If you hear somebody bragging about the amount of “hits” on their site, look a little further.
The number of hits (files downloaded) can determine how much it costs to host your web site. Be very careful about where you park your site. Ask them about their costs for individual or unique visitors. Ask them also about tracking the Page views instead of hits.
I use the numbers for “individual” or “unique” visitors. That means a person has come to my web site. “Page views” means the number of pages they actually visited. Although these numbers will be close, you’re never going to be exact on any of this. Just keep in mind, page views and unique visitors are much more meaningful than hits.
NOTE: For a complete discussion of hits vs. visits, please visit:
http://www.webtrends.com/support/hits_views_sessions.htm
TOM’S Examples:
OK, one person visiting your site would be a “unique visitor.” That means that a person has come to your web site. If they came back a day later, (or some other time period that your statistic package is set for) that would be two unique visitors, although it’s the same person. Therefore, it’s not an exact science.
The other term “page views,” is when somebody actually downloaded a whole page, including the graphics. The web automatically downloads the page to their computers when they visit a site (you do the same when you visit a site). It does not mean they looked at it, but it means they “pulled it up.” The more visitors and page views you get, the better chance you have of doing business.