What is a Page View?

A page view (pageview) is every time a page is loaded or reloaded in a browser. It is the most basic metric in web analytics and shows how often specific pages are viewed.

Page views versus unique page views

A unique page view counts each page only once per session, no matter how often the user returns to the same page. Page views count every load. For analysing how popular your content is, unique page views are more relevant.

Page views in GA4

In GA4, page views are measured through the page_view event. See which pages receive the most traffic in the Pages report and combine this with bounce rate and conversion data to prioritise your CRO efforts.

Page views as a content metric

High page views on a blog article can indicate organic success. Use this as input for your content strategy: which topics resonate most? Which pages deserve an update or expansion?

Are page views a good KPI?

As a volume metric, yes, but always combine them with conversion data. Lots of views without conversions have little commercial value.

Does a PDF download count as a page view?

No, that is tracked as a separate event. More at developers.google.com/search.