Google Analytics : visitors who visits once / more than once

Question

I want to find out the following 2 metrics from Google Analytics:

• Unique visitors who visits once
• Unique visitors who visits more than once

I have 2 sites' data in Google Analytics:

Site A:

• Unique visitors : 520
• New visitors : 520
• Returning visitors : 320

Site B:

• Unique visitors : 6100
• New visitors : 5000
• Returning visitors : 8500

I try to calculate the above 2 metrics with the 3 numbers for each site, but seems failed.

I tried:

Visitors who visits once = Unique visitors - Returning visitors

Doesn't make sense, as Site B will give negative result.

Also tried:

Visitors who visits once = New visitors

But Site A tells us that 320 visitors are returning.

What did I miss?

Answer 1

You may be confusing "visits" with "visitors". A unique visitor can have more than one visit. The first visit (a new visit), and returning visits.

So Site A (probably running less than a month) is showing there are 520 visitors (all new), so 520 new visits, PLUS 320 and additional returning visits from those 520 visitors. You can't tell if 519 visitors visited once, with one visitor visiting 321 times, or 200 visited once and 320 exactly twice, the information isn't there.

Site B is probably an older site. 6100 uniques, 5000 this month (so 1100 from before this month). 8500 returning visits (not visitors), again no way from those figures to show who's returning and how often.

What does part of what you want is the Audience / Behavior / Frequency & Recency report. Shows how many visits (not visitors) were from visitors who appeared just once, or more.