In web analytics, Geography is a dimension that shows where traffic originates—typically by country/region/city. It’s not a metric; it’s a lens to segment your existing numbers like sessions, users, or conversion rate. Use it to compare how different locations behave and how much value they generate.
Why it matters
Geography supports prioritization, localized messaging, and budget allocation. Compare markets by acquisition and post-click behavior: which countries bring qualified traffic, which cities struggle on the first landing page, and where you consistently hit your target goal. Geography is also a fast anomaly detector: a sudden drop in one country often hints at payments, DNS/CDN, or translation issues.
How it’s determined (and its quirks)
Location is inferred via IP-to-location databases. Accuracy is solid at country level, noisier for city (VPNs, mobile carrier routing, shared corporate egress). Treat city splits as directional; verify surprises before reallocating spend.
Common calculations
You’ll mostly slice existing metrics. A handy one:
Share of sessions by location = sessions_from_location / total_sessions × 100%
Mini-example:
| Country | Sessions | Conversions | Conversion rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | 4,000 | 160 | 4.0% |
| DE | 1,200 | 48 | 4.0% |
| IN | 800 | 56 | 7.0% |
Interpretation: India converts better, the US brings volume. Your move: scale winning geos, fix friction where intent is strong but UX lags.
Practical uses
- Budget & bids: Shift investment toward high-ROI geos; cap where CPAs spike.
- Content & UX: Localize copy, currency, shipping, and forms per market.
- Product signals: Pair geo with cohort analysis to see retention by market.
- Team visibility: Put geo splits on a shared dashboard and align them with target user segment definitions.