Hit stands for any request to a web server that generates each time a visitor downloads a page, opens a hyperlink, browses a graphic, or performs any other action on a site that results in a web server’s request. The server, in turn, records each request received and forms a log file.
These requests are also known as “hits” and there is a separate one for each page element that comes along with the page loading. For instance, one page will have 4 hits after a user clicks on a link (assuming the page has 3 graphic elements): the first one comes for a page actual loading, and the next 3 – for each of the graphics.
In other words, the number of hits depends on the number of files a web server transfers to your computer to download the page, including photos, videos, and a list of buttons (for sure, each button is also a file, hence a hit). As a rule, the average number of hits for the page is 15.
It’s also worth mentioning that some people often misconstrue hits and page views. The page view, also known as impression, stands for the number of times users visited a specific page. A 1-page view can be generated by one user accordingly but can in fact contain a lot of hits depending on the page’s structure.
