As a publisher, understanding your website traffic is crucial for measuring your ad revenue potential.
Two of the most commonly used metrics for tracking website traffic are pageviews and sessions.
While they may seem similar, they have different implications for website performance and for monetization.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the differences between pageviews and sessions, and determine which one is most significant for ad monetization.
What is a Pageview?
A pageview is a metric that measures the number of times a particular page on your website has been viewed. Every time a user loads a page on your website, it counts as one pageview.
For example, if a user visits your website’s homepage and then clicks on a link to an article, that would count as two pageviews – one for the homepage and one for the article page.
Why Pageviews is an Important Metric for Monetization
Pageviews are an important metric for monetization because they directly impact the number of ad impressions a website generates.
Advertisers typically pay based on the number of impressions or views their ads receive, so a high number of pageviews can result in more ad impressions and, in turn, higher ad revenue.
In addition to generating more ad impressions, a high number of pageviews can also indicate the popularity of a website and its content. This can be appealing to advertisers, who may be willing to pay a premium for ad space on a high-traffic website.
However, it’s worth noting that pageviews alone do not necessarily translate into higher revenue.
If a website has one million monthly pageviews but the average user leaves a few seconds after visiting the site, advertisers will not want to place ads on the site because the users are not engaged.
And that leads us to sessions.
What is a Session?
A session, as defined by Google, “is a period of time during which a user interacts with your website or app.”
In other words, a session measures how long someone spent on your site, and what actions (i.e. clicks, downloads) they engaged it during that time frame.
A session begins when a user first lands on your website and ends when they leave or remain inactive for 30 minutes.
During a session, a user can view multiple pages on your website, and each pageview is counted as part of that session.
Why are Sessions Important for Monetization?
Sessions are an important metric for monetization because they provide insight into user engagement and how users are interacting with your website’s content.
A higher average session duration indicates that users are spending more time on your website and are presumably viewing more pages. This signals to advertisers that you have a quality website which is what they want.
Higher session durations result in more ad impressions, higher click-through rates, and ultimately, higher revenue.
Pageviews vs Sessions – What Should I Have More Of?
In general, websites tend to have more pageviews than sessions.
This is because a pageview is simply a count of how many times a particular page has been viewed, while a session measures a user’s visit to a website. A user may view multiple pages during a single session, but each pageview is only counted once.
What is More Important for Ad Revenue – Pageviews or Sessions?
Both pageviews and sessions are important for generating ad revenue, but they have different implications for how revenue is generated and how advertisers value ad inventory.
Pageviews are important for generating ad impressions, which are the basis for most display ad revenue models.
Sessions, on the other hand, provide insight into user engagement and how users are interacting with your website’s content.
A higher number of sessions indicate that users are spending more time on your website and viewing more pages. And advertisers tend to place a higher value on ad inventory that is viewed by engaged users.
This means that a website with a high number of sessions and a low bounce rate may be more attractive to advertisers, even if it has a lower number of pageviews.
Bottom Line
Both metrics are important for generating revenue, but what’s most important for publishers is creating engaging content.
The more quality content you create, the higher your pageviews and sessions will be.
Once you have a substantial number of pageviews/sessions, partnering with a Google-certified (GCPP) monetization company like Adnimation is a great way to ensure that you are maximizing your ad revenue.
To learn more about how Adnimation can help, please get in touch with us today.
