Metrics

This page defines the dashboard metrics: which events they are built from and where their limits are. The full counting method is on Methodology.

The dashboard is in closed beta. You can apply on beta application.

Core metrics

For each metric the dashboard draws a chart and compares it with the previous period of the same length.

Engaged visits and bounces

Gauss uses the GA4 definition so the numbers can be compared. A visit is engaged if at least one of these is true:

• it lasted at least 10 seconds of visible time;
• it had 2 or more pageviews;
• it included a conversion (a goal, see Goals, funnels and paths).

A visit shorter than 10 seconds, with one pageview and no conversion, is a bounce. Bounce rate = 1 − engaged visit rate.

Time on page

When a visitor leaves a page, hides the tab or moves to another page of an SPA, the tracker sends user_engagement:

{
  "name": "user_engagement",
  "page_location": "https://shop.example/blog/how-to-choose",
  "params": { "engagement_time_msec": 48200, "scroll_depth_pct": 75 }
}

• engagement_time_msec is the time the tab was visible. A background tab adds nothing.
• scroll_depth_pct is the maximum scroll depth: 0, 25, 50, 75, 90 or 100.

Average time on page = total visible time on the page ÷ the number of pageviews that have a user_engagement event. Mobile browsers sometimes don't send the event when a tab is closed, so time on the last page of a visit can be missing. Such pageviews are left out of the average and don't pull it toward zero.

Visitors over periods longer than a day

Gauss does not recognize a visitor the next day: the identifier changes every day, and there are no cookies or browser storage. So “visitors in 7 days” is the sum of daily unique visitors. A person who came three days in a row is counted three times. The dashboard shows a hint next to the metric.

Time zone and periods

The time zone is set in the site settings. Day boundaries in all reports follow it, including long periods.

Periods: today, yesterday, 7 days, 30 days, month, year and a custom range. For today and yesterday the chart is hourly.

Keep in mind:

• Changing the time zone. New events use the new zone, while days before the change stay in the old one. They cannot be recalculated.
• The visitor day is UTC. The visitor identifier changes at midnight UTC, while reports split days by the site's zone. Sites far from UTC may see slightly higher daily visitor counts.

Breakdowns and filters

Every metric can be broken down by:

• pages: top pages, entry pages, exit pages;
• page categories;
• sources and channels, UTM tags;
• countries, device types, browsers, operating systems.

Each breakdown can be sorted and expanded to the full list. Filters work on any breakdown and combine with AND (for example, channel “Search” and device “mobile”). The filter state is stored in the page URL, so a copied link opens the same filtered view.

How long data is kept

Pageviews, visitors, visits, time on page, channels, UTM, countries and devices come from daily summaries kept for 25 months. Bounce rate, exit pages and filter combinations that no single summary covers (for example, page × country) are calculated from raw events and are only available within your site's raw data retention period. If the selected period goes beyond it, the dashboard tells you.

Realtime

Coming soon. A counter of visitors in the last 5 minutes, updated at least every 30 seconds.

To check your setup right now, use debug mode — see Verify your installation.

How it differs from GA4

Because the visitor model is different, Gauss and GA4 numbers on the same site will not match, especially visitors per week and per month. This is expected. More on running them together — GA4 compatibility.