Why don't I see any Returning visitors in Siteimprove Analytics?

Summary

Returning visitors may show as 0 because Siteimprove calculates them by comparing the selected time period with a previous period. If you select the full tracking period, there is no earlier data to compare, so returning visitors will appear as zero.

Symptoms

• You do not see any Returning visitors in Analytics
• Returning visitor count appears as 0

Cause

In Analytics, the Returning visitor statistics are calculated by comparing the currently selected period with the previous period.

• If you choose “today”: 
  • Today’s data is compared with yesterday’s data
• Returning visitors = users who visited during both periods

If you choose the complete time period for which visitor behavior has been tracked:

• There is no previous period available for comparison
• Therefore, the number of Returning visitors is zero

Resolution

Reduce the span of the selected time period to less than that of the complete tracking time period.

This ensures:

• A previous comparison period exists
• Returning visitor data can be calculated and displayed

Validation

• Change the selected date range (e.g., from “All time” to “Last 7 days”)
• Recheck the Returning visitor’s metric
• Confirm that the value is now populated

Prevention Tips

• Avoid selecting the full tracking period when analyzing returning visitors
• Use periods that allow comparison (e.g., day-over-day, week-over-week)
• Remember: returning visitor metrics always depend on comparison windows