Real-Time Analytics

Real-time analytics shows you exactly who's on your site right now, updating automatically as visitors arrive, navigate, and leave. No refreshing needed, just live data flowing into your dashboard.

What Is Real-Time?

Real-time analytics gives you a live count of active visitors currently browsing your website. This updates every few seconds via a WebSocket connection, giving you instant visibility into your site's activity.

What Counts as "Active"?

A visitor is considered active if they've had any activity in the last 30 seconds:

Loaded a page
Triggered a custom event
Sent a heartbeat signal (automatic every 15 seconds while page is visible)

If there's no activity for 30 seconds, they're no longer counted as active.

Viewing Real-Time Data

Dashboard Display

The live visitor count appears prominently at the top of your website dashboard as a large number with a green indicator showing the connection status.

What You'll See:

Green dot - Real-time connection active
Live count - Number of current visitors
Real-time updates - Count changes as visitors arrive/leave

Where to Find It

Go to Dashboard → Your website
Look at the top section of your dashboard
The live visitor count is displayed with a pulsing green indicator

How It Works

The Technology

Real-time tracking uses a combination of technologies:

Heartbeat System:

Every 15 seconds, your tracking script sends a lightweight "heartbeat" ping
This only happens when the page is visible (not minimized or in background tab)
Heartbeats pause when the user switches tabs or minimizes the browser
Resume automatically when the user returns

WebSocket Connection:

Your dashboard maintains a persistent WebSocket connection to our servers
When heartbeats arrive, the server broadcasts updates to connected dashboards
Updates are near-instant (typically under 1 second latency)
Connection automatically reconnects if dropped

Redis Caching:

Active visitors are tracked in Redis with a 30-second TTL (time-to-live)
When a heartbeat arrives, the visitor's TTL is refreshed
If no heartbeat for 30 seconds, the visitor automatically expires
This ensures accurate counts without manual cleanup

The Flow

Visitor arrives → tracking script loads → heartbeat starts
Every 15 seconds → heartbeat sent to server → TTL refreshed in Redis
Server counts → scans Redis for all active visitors for your website
WebSocket broadcast → sends updated count to all connected dashboards
Dashboard updates → your browser displays the new count (no refresh needed)

Use Cases

Launch Monitoring

Monitor a product launch in real-time:

Watch visitor count spike when you share the link
See immediate social media impact
Track campaign performance as it happens
Spot issues early if numbers are lower than expected

Campaign Validation

Confirm your marketing campaigns are driving traffic:

Email sent? Watch visitors arrive in real-time
Social post published? See the immediate response
PPC ads running? Verify clicks are converting to visits
Influencer mention? Track the traffic spike

Event Tracking

Monitor live events:

Webinar attendance
Flash sale traffic
Limited time offers
Live stream concurrent viewers

Team Collaboration

Share the dashboard with your team:

See collective impact of marketing efforts
Celebrate traffic milestones together
Spot and respond to traffic anomalies quickly
Make data-driven decisions in real-time

Understanding the Numbers

Why the Count Might Seem Low

Remember, real-time shows active visitors right this second, not total visitors for the day:

A visitor who landed 2 minutes ago but hasn't moved? Not counted (no recent heartbeat)
Someone reading an article for 5 minutes? Counted (heartbeats every 15 seconds)
User minimized their browser? Not counted (heartbeats pause)
Visitor on a different page of your site? Counted (as long as page is active)

Comparing to Historical Data

Real-Time: Active visitors right now Historical: Total unique visitors over a time period

Example:

Real-time: 5 active visitors
Last 24 hours: 1,234 total visitors

This is normal! Not all 1,234 visitors are on your site simultaneously.

Heartbeat Details

What Gets Sent

Each heartbeat is a minimal payload:

{
  "apiKey": "your-website-id",
  "visitorId": "visitor-uuid",
  "url": "https://yoursite.com/page",
  "hostname": "yoursite.com",
  "eventType": 3
}