Free Viewing On My Online Activities: What exactly is a hit?

If you got question about " how many hits your web site got last month", simply check in your Cpanel webstats and most probably you will get the answer in graph and number. But, what is hits?

1. A hit is a file that has been downloaded. Each image on a page is a file, as is each sound. When the page loads on your browser, the server registers one hit for each file. Lets say, in your web page have 43 unique images. How many hits is that? The answer may suprise you. The total number of hits is 44 - because the HTML file that describes the page and contains the text is also a hit. Reload the page, and you will generate another 44 hits.

2. Bill Gates 111, in his 1999 book, Business @ the Speed of Thought, wrote: "The Marriot site, which currently averages 15,000 hits a day, generated more than $2 million in Internet-related revenues a month in 1997." What's the problem with that statement?

3. The math doesn't add up. A single visit to the Marriot site might account for hundreds of hits. So, 15,000 hits represents only about 150 people per day. Gates meant to say 15,000 visits, not hits. Many sites perpetuate the confusion between visits to a site and hits on a server, because big numbers make it seem as if more people are visiting the site, and bigger numbers are more appealing to advertisers. People like Bill Gates and journalists should know better.