We get asked a lot about new and returning users, and almost always about what the ratio between the two ‘should’ be.
Not only is there not a real answer to that question, but even if there was, the data available isn’t that reliable anyway.
That’s not to say it isn’t a useful metric – it’s good to be familiar with your user base, including the split between new and returning visitors (and possibly more interesting, the difference between how they use the site). However, it’s important to be aware of how they’re calculated, which is where some potential issues arise.
What are new and returning users?
Google defines returning users as ‘the number of people who have visited your site or app before in the specified date range.’
It defines new users as ‘the number of people who have never visited your site or app before in the specified date range.’
The latter is measured by the number of new unique user IDs that logged the first_visit event. These events fire if GA4 does not see a pre-existing cookie in the browser, therefore categorising it as a new visitor. So if it’s not classed as a returning user, it’s a new user by default.
What’s wrong with that?
There are a number of instances where returning users may get incorrectly categorised as new users:
- If someone visits your site on more than one device (but only if they aren’t logged into the same Google account)
- If someone visits your site on more than one browser
- If someone doesn’t accept cookies
- If someone visits your site in incognito mode
That’s not just one or two people slipping through the net, we’re talking about a number of scenarios where returning users might not be getting recorded as such.
A good rule of thumb is to assume that your amount of returning users is a bit higher than the percentage reported.
What’s an ideal balance between new and returning users?
There isn’t one. Returning users are great because it’s an indication that your website is offering a good user experience and/or you’re winning repeat business. Without new users though, you’ll never be able to reach new potential customers and grow.
The ideal split also completely depends on what type of business you have. If you’re selling high volume, low cost items, then a high percentage of new users is probably to be expected. If what you offer is a more considered purchase, then you’d expect your portion of returning users to creep up a little.
Similarly, if you’re a B2B company operating in a niche industry, you may have a limited pool of people to sell to, but rely on opportunities to upsell and cross-sell, in which case, again, returning visitors become more important.
Either way, I’d recommend looking beyond the standard traffic numbers, and into how they behave, e.g. is there a difference between how long these two audiences spend on the site? Are returning users more likely to convert?
You can find a basic split of new and returning users in GA4 in the overview page, as well as under ‘retention’ in the ‘lifecycle’ section on the left hand menu. You can also look at these for different channels by clicking on ‘All Users’.
If you want to see the difference between how these audiences behave on your site in more detail, you can do this within Explore reports. Just add new segments to any existing Explore reports you have. Don’t forget to name your segment.
Overall, I feel like there are more important metrics than new vs returning users in most cases, and it’s certainly not something to stress about, however it’s worth looking into further if it aligns with business objectives you’re reporting on, such as brand awareness, or repeat business.
