The 30-minute idle rule
Almost every analytics platform uses the same default: a session continues as long as the same visitor loads another page within 30 minutes of the last pageview. After 30 minutes of inactivity, the next pageview starts a new session — even if it is the same person.
What also ends a session
Midnight in the site's configured timezone (some platforms only — GA4 does this, others do not). A change in traffic source within the same visit (GA4 only — if the user clicks an external campaign link mid-session, a new session is started). Closing and reopening the browser (some tools count this as a new session if the closure was >30 minutes).
How cookieless tools define sessions
Cookieless platforms like BYOViral cannot use a persistent cookie. Instead, the server computes a fingerprint (IP + user-agent + per-site salt) on every pageview. If the same fingerprint reappears within 30 minutes, it is the same session. The fingerprint is one-way and cannot identify the visitor.
Why sessions matter for ranking decisions
Pages-per-session is a useful engagement metric — it tells you whether visitors explored after landing. Session duration matters for content depth. Sessions per visitor (where measurable) tells you loyalty.
How BYOViral surfaces sessions
Per-site overview, visitor-paths report, and the Recent Activity feed all group pageviews into 30-minute sessions. A "1-page session" is a bounce; a multi-page session is rendered as a click-path you can expand and follow.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change the 30-minute timeout?
In some tools (Matomo, Plausible Enterprise) yes. In BYOViral the window is currently fixed at 30 minutes to keep session counts comparable to industry baselines.
What if a visitor reads a long article for 45 minutes then clicks?
That counts as a new session — the 30-minute idle window expired. The total pageview count is unaffected; only the session count goes up by one.
Are sessions the same thing as visits?
Yes — "session" and "visit" are interchangeable terms.
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