The Sessionize function maps each click in a session to a unique session identifier. A session is a sequence of clicks by one user that are separated by at most n seconds.
The function is useful for both sessionization and detecting web crawler (bot) activity. A typical use is to understand user browsing behavior on a website.
Sessionization is the process of identifying and grouping together all the interactions a user has with a website or application during a single visit, typically based on the user's activity within a certain timeframe, such as prior to 30 minutes of inactivity.
Clickstream data refers to the sequence of clicks and other user interactions with a website or application. Sessionization of clickstream data involves analyzing this data to identify each user's session, so you can better understand how users are interacting with the site and make improvements to user experience and engagement.
Consider an input clickstream table, where each row is a webpage click made by a particular user. The sessionization computation attempts to identify browsing sessions by grouping the clicks from each user based on the time-intervals between the clicks. If two clicks from the same user are made too far apart, as defined by a time-out threshold, the clicks are treated as though they are from two different browsing sessions.
- Personalization: By understanding a user's session, you can personalize the user experience by presenting content or products that are more relevant to their interests and behavior.
- Improving conversion rates: Sessionization can help you identify bottlenecks in the user journey that are causing users to drop off before completing a task. By identifying these issues and making improvements, you can increase conversion rates.
- Fraud detection: Sessionization can also help identify fraudulent activity, such as bots or automated scripts, by analyzing the patterns of user interactions within a session.