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kristin12345678
kristin12345678
May 9, 2017
Solved

New visitor - expiration of cookie

  • May 9, 2017
  • 4 replies
  • 8435 views

Hello,

I have made a segment in workspace - I want to identify new visitors. See definition in the attachment.

For how long is the cookie being kept? I've read that for unique visitor the cookie is being kept for 5 years, but I've also heard that visitor profile ID is deleted after 1 year of inactivity.

For example: If a visitor was at a spesific site 2 years ago and go to the same site today. Is it a new or a returning visitor? (The visitor uses the same device and cookies has not been deleted).

 

Regards,

Kristin

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    Best answer by Alexis_Cazes_

    Here are some documentation links:

    Compare new visitors to return visitors

    Some other threads about the same:

    New Visitors (more than one visit)

    A unique visitor can be identified in the following ways in Adobe Analytics (data feed documentation):

    Analytics Visitor IDs

    There are several ways a visitor can be identified in Analytics (listed in the following table in order of preference):

    Order UsedQuery Parameter (collection method)post_visid_type column valuePresent When
    vid (s.visitorID)0s.visitorID is set.
    aid (s_vi cookie)3Visitor had an existing s_vi cookie before you deployed the Visitor ID service, or you have a Visitor ID grace period configured.
    mid (AMCV_ cookie set by Experience Cloud ID service)5Visitor's browser accepts cookies (first-party), and the Experience Cloud ID service is deployed.
    fid (fallback cookie on H.25.3 or newer, or AppMeasurement for JavaScript)4Visitor's browser accepts cookies (first-party).
    HTTP Mobile Subscriber header2Device is recognized as a mobile device.
    IP Address, User Agent, Gateway IP Address1Visitor's browser does not accept cookies.

    In many scenarios you might see 2 or 3 different IDs on a call, but Analytics will use the first ID present from that list as the official visitor ID, and split that value across the post_visid_high and post_visid_low columns. For example, if you are setting a custom visitor ID (included in the "vid" query parameter), that ID will be used before other IDs that might be present on that same hit.

    In terms of cookies it depends if you have implemented the Visitor ID services or not but the general guidance for cookie expiration can be found here:

    Analytics Cookies

    Cookie Name: s_vi

    Attribute

    Description

    Information Stored

    Unique visitor ID time/date stamp

    Expiration

    2 years

    Usage

    This cookie is used to identify a unique visitor

    Location

    This cookie is stored at the domain of the image request - typically 2O7.net if you are using third-party cookies, or your domain if using first-party cookies.

    Size

    44 bytes

    Note: Each Analytics visitor ID is associated with a visitor profile on Adobe servers. Visitor profiles are deleted after 1 year of inactivity regardless of any visitor ID cookie expiration.

    Cookie Name: s_fid

    Attribute

    Description

    Information Stored

    Fallback unique visitor ID time/date stamp

    Expiration

    5 years

    Usage

    This cookie is used to identify a unique visitor if the standard s_vi cookie is unavailable due to third-party cookie restrictions. Not used for implementations that use first-party cookies.

    Location

    This cookie is stored on your domain as a first-party cookie.

    Size

    33 bytes

    Cookie Name: AMCV_###@AdobeOrg

    The Visitor ID service uses JavaScript to store a unique visitor ID in an AMCV_###@AdobeOrg cookie on the domain of the current website, where ### represents a random string of characters. For example, AMCV_1FD6776A524453CC0A490D44%40AdobeOrg. See also, Cookies and the ID Service.

    Attribute

    Description

    Information Stored

    Unique visitor IDs used by Experience Cloud Solutions.

    Expiration

    2 years

    Usage

    This cookie is used to identify a unique visitor

    Location

    This cookie is stored at the domain of the website (not the domain of the image request).

    Size

    Varies, most customers can expect this cookie to be around 200 bytes in length.


    Please be aware that the cookies expiration can be changed in the implementation from the default expiration using:

    s.cookieLifetime for s_vi cookies

    cookieLifetime  for AMCV_ cookies

    4 replies

    Amit_Kumar
    Amit_Kumar
    Level 10
    May 10, 2017

    Kristin Angel ,

    SiteCatalyst determines unique visitor information using several technologies. The primary method of calculating unique visitors is by setting a persistent cookie on the visitor's browser to uniquely identify the visitor. Cookie technology helps to avoid common pitfalls, for example, IP Pooling, caching, or tracking visitors behind a firewall,when counting unique visitors. For more information on IP Pooling, If the visitor has disabled cookies on their browser, or if the visitor's browser does not support persistent cookies, Omniture uses a combination of the IP address and the user agent string to determine if a visitor is unique or not. SiteCatalyst reports a small percentage (usually 1-2%) of visitors who do not support cookies.

    In your case Visitor is not deleting any cookie but Visitor profiles are getting deleted after 1 year of inactivity regardless of any visitor ID cookie expiration so the persistent cookie s_vi will take the precedence.That means your visitor will be a repeat visitor as persistent cookie is valid for 5 years.

    regards,

    Amit

      Løjmann
      Løjmann
      Level 5
      May 13, 2017

      Hi,

      Right, cookies are stores years unless the user don't delete them.

      You could setup a segment with the definition that the visitor may not have been at your site in 6 months, 12 months or 2 years for example. Otherwise, if you want to just take the visitors coming that can't be recognised, then setup a segment where you take in the dimension 'Visit Number' and set that to 1, then you have all first-time visitors.

      /Løjmann

      I
      inêsc45775815
      Level 2
      July 24, 2018

      Is any of the answers correct?

      Alexis_Cazes_
      Alexis_Cazes_Accepted solution
      Level 10
      July 25, 2018

      Here are some documentation links:

      Compare new visitors to return visitors

      Some other threads about the same:

      New Visitors (more than one visit)

      A unique visitor can be identified in the following ways in Adobe Analytics (data feed documentation):

      Analytics Visitor IDs

      There are several ways a visitor can be identified in Analytics (listed in the following table in order of preference):

      Order UsedQuery Parameter (collection method)post_visid_type column valuePresent When
      vid (s.visitorID)0s.visitorID is set.
      aid (s_vi cookie)3Visitor had an existing s_vi cookie before you deployed the Visitor ID service, or you have a Visitor ID grace period configured.
      mid (AMCV_ cookie set by Experience Cloud ID service)5Visitor's browser accepts cookies (first-party), and the Experience Cloud ID service is deployed.
      fid (fallback cookie on H.25.3 or newer, or AppMeasurement for JavaScript)4Visitor's browser accepts cookies (first-party).
      HTTP Mobile Subscriber header2Device is recognized as a mobile device.
      IP Address, User Agent, Gateway IP Address1Visitor's browser does not accept cookies.

      In many scenarios you might see 2 or 3 different IDs on a call, but Analytics will use the first ID present from that list as the official visitor ID, and split that value across the post_visid_high and post_visid_low columns. For example, if you are setting a custom visitor ID (included in the "vid" query parameter), that ID will be used before other IDs that might be present on that same hit.

      In terms of cookies it depends if you have implemented the Visitor ID services or not but the general guidance for cookie expiration can be found here:

      Analytics Cookies

      Cookie Name: s_vi

      Attribute

      Description

      Information Stored

      Unique visitor ID time/date stamp

      Expiration

      2 years

      Usage

      This cookie is used to identify a unique visitor

      Location

      This cookie is stored at the domain of the image request - typically 2O7.net if you are using third-party cookies, or your domain if using first-party cookies.

      Size

      44 bytes

      Note: Each Analytics visitor ID is associated with a visitor profile on Adobe servers. Visitor profiles are deleted after 1 year of inactivity regardless of any visitor ID cookie expiration.

      Cookie Name: s_fid

      Attribute

      Description

      Information Stored

      Fallback unique visitor ID time/date stamp

      Expiration

      5 years

      Usage

      This cookie is used to identify a unique visitor if the standard s_vi cookie is unavailable due to third-party cookie restrictions. Not used for implementations that use first-party cookies.

      Location

      This cookie is stored on your domain as a first-party cookie.

      Size

      33 bytes

      Cookie Name: AMCV_###@AdobeOrg

      The Visitor ID service uses JavaScript to store a unique visitor ID in an AMCV_###@AdobeOrg cookie on the domain of the current website, where ### represents a random string of characters. For example, AMCV_1FD6776A524453CC0A490D44%40AdobeOrg. See also, Cookies and the ID Service.

      Attribute

      Description

      Information Stored

      Unique visitor IDs used by Experience Cloud Solutions.

      Expiration

      2 years

      Usage

      This cookie is used to identify a unique visitor

      Location

      This cookie is stored at the domain of the website (not the domain of the image request).

      Size

      Varies, most customers can expect this cookie to be around 200 bytes in length.


      Please be aware that the cookies expiration can be changed in the implementation from the default expiration using:

      s.cookieLifetime for s_vi cookies

      cookieLifetime  for AMCV_ cookies

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