Introduction
Looker Studio dashboards provide powerful insights into how users interact with your website or app—but only if you understand what the metrics really mean. Two of the most commonly misunderstood metrics are Sessions and Active Users (including 7-day and 30-day active users).
It’s easy to look at a dashboard and think your data doesn’t make sense. For example, you might see numbers like 107 sessions, 100 daily active users, 769 7-day active users, and 4,477 30-day active users—and wonder how 7-day or 30-day active users can be higher than the total sessions.
This article will break down each metric, explain how it works in Looker Studio, and show you how to interpret your data accurately so you can report confidently to your team or clients.
Key Takeaway
Sessions track individual interactions with your site or app.
Active Users measure unique users within a time frame: daily, 7-day, or 30-day.
7-Day Active Users capture all users who engaged at least once over a 7-day period.
30-Day Active Users capture all users over a 30-day period.
It is normal for 7-day and 30-day active users to exceed daily active users or even sessions because they count unique users over time.
Always check your date ranges and data sources to avoid misinterpretation.
1. What Are Sessions?
A Session represents a single visit or interaction with your website or app. In Looker Studio, sessions are calculated based on Google Analytics 4 (GA4) session events.
Key Characteristics:
Time-bound: A session starts when a user opens your site or app and ends after 30 minutes of inactivity, at midnight, or if campaign parameters change.
Multiple sessions per user: A single person can generate multiple sessions. For example, if someone visits your site in the morning and again in the evening, that's two sessions.
Event-based: In GA4, a session is triggered by a session_start event.
Why Sessions Matter:
Useful for understanding traffic volume and user engagement frequency.
Helps measure marketing campaign impact—more sessions may indicate higher interest or engagement.
Example:If your dashboard shows 107 sessions, it means there were 107 distinct visits during the selected time period. It does not mean 107 unique users, because the same person could have visited multiple times.
2. What Are Active Users?
Unlike sessions, Active Users measure unique individuals interacting with your site. In Looker Studio, this metric can be customized as daily, 7-day, or 30-day active users.
Daily Active Users (DAU)
Counts unique users who visited your site today (or during a selected single day).
Each user is counted once, even if they visited multiple times.
DAU gives you a snapshot of your daily engagement.
7-Day Active Users (WAU)
Counts unique users who visited at least once within the last 7 days.
Useful for understanding weekly retention and engagement trends.
If someone visited 3 days ago and again today, they count as 1 user, not 2.
30-Day Active Users (MAU)
Counts unique users who visited at least once within the last 30 days.
Helps measure monthly engagement and understand overall reach.
Typically much higher than daily or weekly active users.
Important Note:
Active Users are unique counts based on GA4’s user tracking (client ID, user ID, or device ID).
Multiple sessions by the same person within the time window only count once.
The longer the time window, the higher the number will usually be.
3. Why Your Numbers May Look Odd
Consider the following dashboard numbers:
Metric | Value |
Sessions | 107 |
Daily Active Users | 100 |
7-Day Active Users | 769 |
30-Day Active Users | 4,477 |
At first glance, these may seem inconsistent. Here's how to interpret them:
Sessions (107) – There were 107 visits, some may be repeat visits by the same users.
Daily Active Users (100) – 100 unique users visited today. Some may have had more than one session.
7-Day Active Users (769) – Over the past 7 days, 769 different people visited at least once.
30-Day Active Users (4,477) – Over the past 30 days, 4,477 different people visited at least once.
Why it’s normal for these numbers to differ:
Active Users > Sessions: This can happen if your sessions date range is narrower than your active users’ range, or if GA4 tracks users based on events even if no session is logged.
7-Day & 30-Day Active Users >> Daily Active Users: This is expected because the longer the period, the more unique users accumulate.
Daily Active Users < Sessions: If a few users generate multiple sessions, sessions can exceed daily active users—but not always, depending on how GA4 counts users and sessions.
Tip: Always check date ranges and filters. Comparing metrics without matching time frames is the most common reason dashboards appear “wrong.”
4. How These Metrics Work in Looker Studio
In Looker Studio, these metrics are typically pulled from GA4:
Looker Studio Metric | GA4 Event/Source |
Sessions | session_start events |
Active Users | active_users metric from GA4 |
7-Day Active Users | weekly_active_users calculation in GA4 |
30-Day Active Users | monthly_active_users calculation in GA4 |
Visualization Tips:
Use time series charts to compare sessions vs daily active users over time.
Use bar charts for 7-day and 30-day active users to see retention trends.
Consider blended data tables to show sessions, DAU, WAU, and MAU side by side.
5. How to Explain This to Clients or Stakeholders
Many marketers get confused because “higher numbers” don’t always mean better performance. Here’s how to simplify it:
Sessions = volume of visits
Active Users = unique people
7-Day Active Users = weekly audience
30-Day Active Users = monthly audience
Example Explanation:"We had 107 total visits today, coming from 100 unique users. Over the past week, 769 people visited at least once, and in the past month, 4,477 people visited. The difference is due to tracking unique users over different time periods."
Visual Aid: Create a diagram with four concentric circles:
Center: Daily Active Users (100)
Next: Sessions (107 overlapping with DAU)
Outer circles: 7-Day Active Users (769) → 30-Day Active Users (4,477)
This visually explains why cumulative active users over longer periods are higher than daily sessions.
6. Common Mistakes to Avoid
Comparing metrics across different timeframes – Don’t compare daily sessions to 30-day active users.
Assuming sessions = users – One user can create multiple sessions.
Misinterpreting spikes – A spike in sessions doesn’t always mean new users; it may be repeat visitors.
Ignoring date filters – Check GA4’s reporting period matches Looker Studio’s dashboard range.
7. Tips for Using These Metrics Effectively
Track sessions to understand traffic volume trends.
Track daily active users to measure engagement.
Track 7-day and 30-day active users to evaluate retention and reach.
Combine with conversion metrics to measure ROI.
Use Looker Studio filters to drill down by source, campaign, device, or geography.
8. Practical Example: Interpreting Real Numbers
Suppose your dashboard shows:
Sessions: 107
Daily Active Users: 100
7-Day Active Users: 769
30-Day Active Users: 4,477
Interpretation:
The 100 daily active users generated 107 sessions → 7 repeat sessions today.
Over the past 7 days, 769 unique people visited → some users visited multiple days.
Over the past 30 days, 4,477 unique people visited → shows larger audience reach over the month.
Insight: You can focus on retention strategies if the gap between 7-day and 30-day active users is very large—perhaps users visit once and don’t return.
9. Key Takeaways
Sessions track individual site visits; Active Users track unique individuals.
Daily, 7-day, and 30-day active users show user engagement over different time windows.
It’s normal for 7-day and 30-day active users to exceed daily active users or sessions.
Always check date ranges and dashboard filters to avoid misinterpreting your data.
Looker Studio makes it easy to visualize these metrics side by side for insights on traffic, engagement, and retention.
FAQ
Q1: Why do my sessions sometimes appear lower than active users?
A1: This happens if GA4 tracks users via events even when a full session isn’t recorded, or if your date ranges differ between metrics.
Q2: Can one user generate multiple sessions?
A2: Yes. Sessions count visits, while active users count unique individuals. A repeat visitor can create multiple sessions but only counts once as an active user.
Q3: Should I focus more on sessions or active users?
A3: Both. Sessions are useful for engagement frequency; active users help measure audience size and retention.
Q4: Why are 7-day and 30-day active users much higher than daily active users?
A4: Longer time frames capture more unique users. A user who visited 3 weeks ago contributes to 30-day active users but not today’s daily active users.
Q5: How can Looker Studio help make this data understandable?
A5: Use blended charts, time series, and visual comparisons (daily, weekly, monthly) to show trends and clarify metrics for stakeholders.