What is cohort analysis?

A cohort is a group of people who share a common characteristic over a certain period of time.

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Cohort Analysis is a way to analyze behavior by segmenting users into groups that have had similar experiences within a given timespan. So instead of telling us just the total number of users who filled out a form last week, it can tell us that 20% of users who first visited a site on Monday filled out a form on Wednesday. This is a powerful way to understand patterns and derive the truly useful, actionable insights into user behavior.

The report allows us to select:

• Cohort Type (The Beta version of the Google Analytics Cohort Analysis is limited to only acquisition date cohorts.)
• Cohort Size (by day, by week, by month)
• Metrics:
  • By User (goal completion, pageviews, revenue, session duration, sessions, transactions)
  • Retention
  • Total (goal completion, pageviews, revenue, session duration, sessions, transactions)
• Date Range