One counter for a website, with page reports where needed

A separate counter for every page is usually unnecessary. One counter in a shared template can collect website totals and page information. The page report and optional page groups answer more specific questions when the integration supplies usable page addresses. Separate counters remain useful for genuinely separate websites or reporting responsibilities.

Start with the question and the existing counter

1. For the overall development of one website, use the same counter number in its shared template. Check that the template is included on the intended pages and that a plugin or tag manager does not add another copy. Several visible counters on one page can create several measurements.
2. For a comparison of articles or sections, first open the page report for the same counter and reporting period. Check whether it shows individual paths, only the website origin, or missing addresses. The counter total alone cannot explain which article attracted attention.
3. If page addresses are missing, check the integration before creating more counters. JavaScript sends the current page address explicitly. An image-only integration relies on the HTTP Referer or a manually supplied address and can therefore report only the origin.

Use page groups for sections

An owner can open Configure dashboard and measurements and define Page groups with the path patterns accepted by the form. For example, /blog/* can describe the blog section. Start with a small number of meaningful groups, then check their reports against the intended paths.

The group report distinguishes page views from daily visitors and goal completions. Historical page views can use retained page records; group visitors and attributed goals require the corresponding measurement after setup. The creation date and report explanation matter when comparing older periods.

Avoid sums that look like website-wide visitors

A reader can visit several pages or belong to overlapping groups. Adding page or group visitor figures does not necessarily give the number of distinct daily visitors to the whole website. Use the website-level daily figure for that question and keep page views as a separate metric.

Compare matching periods and available data. Counter totals started on different dates or with different starting values are not equivalent. A common reporting interval can still be compared if both counters have the relevant measurements; lifetime totals alone cannot repair missing history.

When separate counters make sense

Separate counters can keep different websites, projects or owners apart. Each has its own history, options and access. My counters collects authorised links to several own counters; it does not merge their visitor identities or turn their totals into a deduplicated audience.

Keep an existing installation if it already answers the question. Before adding another counter, decide who will use the separate report and how the overlap will be interpreted. A page-level question often needs a page report or a group rather than another lifetime tally.

Set up optional page groups

Open an authorised counter in My counters, then use the dashboard settings to define groups.

Open My counters