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Session

Also known as: Visit

Engagementuser behaviorwebsiteanalyticsRetailE-commerceSaaSMediaTechnology

A session represents a group of user interactions with a website that take place within a given time frame. It is essential for understanding user behavior and engagement.

Business Use Case

Product teams analyze Sessions to understand peak usage times and optimize server resources.

Business Criticality

High

Journey / Navigation Area

Digital Analytics

Scope

Session

Formula

COUNT(Session ID)

Calculation Notes

Sessions typically expire after 30 minutes of inactivity; adjust for time zone differences.

Technical Details

Measure Typecount
Aggregation WindowSession, Time based - Hourly/Daily/Monthly/Yearly

Events

PlatformEvent
Google Analytics 4session_start
AdobesessionStart

Data Mappings

W3 Data Layer
{
  "event": "sessionStart",
  "session": {
    "sessionID": "s123",
    "startTime": "2023-10-01T10:00:00Z"
  }
}
GA4 Data Layer
{
  "event": "session_start",
  "session_id": "s123"
}
Adobe Client Data Layer
{
  "event": "sessionStarted",
  "eventInfo": {
    "eventName": "sessionStarted"
  },
  "session": {
    "sessionID": "s123"
  }
}
XDM Mapping
{
  "eventType": "web.sessions",
  "web": {
    "sessions": {
      "value": 1
    }
  }
}

SQL Queries

Google Analytics 4 (BigQuery)
SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT ga_session_id) AS sessions FROM `your_project.your_dataset.user_interactions`, UNNEST(event_params) AS ep WHERE ep.key = 'interaction_date' AND ep.value.string_value BETWEEN '2023-01-01' AND '2023-12-31'
Adobe Experience Platform (AEP Query Service)
SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT session_id) AS sessions FROM user_interactions WHERE _experience.analytics.eventType = 'session_start' AND interaction_date BETWEEN '2023-01-01' AND '2023-12-31'

Source Data

Digital Analytics

Dependencies

session_start

Report Attributes

Sessions, User, Duration

Recommended Reporting Views

Views
Traffic AnalysisUser Behavior

Segment Eligibility

true

Governance

Data Sensitivitypublic

Governance

Created bydevyendarm
Created on5/26/2026
Last modified bydevyendarm
Last modified on5/30/2026
StatusPUBLISHED

GitHub

View related Pull Requestcatalog/kpis/session.yml

Community Discussion