This comes up a lot, because “hits” is often misused in casual conversation about web traffic. Here’s a breakdown of the common terms and what they actually mean:
Hit
- A “hit” is one request to the web server for any file.
- Every single file (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, image, font, video, etc.) requested from the server counts as a hit.
- Example: If a single page loads an HTML file, 5 images, 2 CSS files, and 1 JavaScript file, that’s 9 hits, but just 1 page view.
- Hits are a very inflated number and not a good measure of real site usage.
Page View (a.k.a. Page Impression)
- A “page view” means a full page loaded by a visitor’s browser.
- No matter how many files the page contains, it counts as one page view.
- Example: If a visitor clicks through 10 articles, that’s 10 page views.
Visit (or Session)
- A “visit” is a series of page views by the same user during a continuous period of activity.
- Typically, analytics tools end a session after 30 minutes of inactivity or when the user leaves.
- Example: If a visitor comes to your site, reads 3 pages, and leaves, that’s 1 visit but 3 page views.
Unique Visitor
- Refers to a distinct person (or device/browser) visiting the site during a defined period (day, week, month).
- Determined by IP address, cookies, or login — so it’s approximate.
- Example: If I visit your site 5 times today, I count as 1 unique visitor, but 5 visits.
Impression
- Often used in advertising contexts.
- An impression is when an ad or element is displayed once on a page, regardless of interaction.
- Example: If a banner ad appears on 1,000 page views, that’s 1,000 impressions.
Summary
- Hit = any file requested (inflated number).
- Page View = one web page loaded.
- Visit/Session = group of page views by a user in one sitting.
- Unique Visitor = distinct person/device in a period.
- Impression = ad or element display.
👉 That’s why when someone brags about “a million hits,” it might really mean only a few thousand actual page views.