What Is Retention?
Retention measures whether your visitors come back. It answers the question: “Of the people who visited on a given day, how many returned 1 day later? 7 days later? 28 days later?”
This is one of the most important metrics for any online business. High retention means people find your site valuable enough to return.
Viewing Retention Data
Navigate to Retention in the sidebar under Behavior.
The retention report uses a cohort table, a grid where:
- Each row represents a cohort: a group of visitors who first arrived on the same date
- Each column shows how many returned after a specific number of days
Reading the Cohort Table
Here’s how to read it:
Cohort | Visitors | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 7 | Day 14 | Day 28 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mar 1 | 500 | 42% | 35% | 20% | 12% | 8% |
Mar 2 | 480 | 40% | 33% | 18% | 11% | — |
This means: of the 500 visitors who first came on March 1st, 42% returned the next day, 20% came back a week later, and 8% were still returning after 28 days.
The columns track return visits at these intervals: Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 14, 21, and 28.
What Good Retention Looks Like
Retention benchmarks vary by industry, but here are general guidelines:
Metric | Low | Average | Good |
|---|---|---|---|
Day 1 retention | <20% | 20–40% | >40% |
Day 7 retention | <10% | 10–25% | >25% |
Day 28 retention | <5% | 5–15% | >15% |
Using Retention Data
- Spot trends: Are newer cohorts retaining better or worse than older ones? Improving retention over time means your product or content is getting stickier.
- Measure the impact of changes: Launched a new feature or redesigned a page? Compare retention of cohorts before and after.
- Identify critical drop-off points: If you lose most visitors between Day 1 and Day 2, focus on the first-visit experience. If drop-off happens around Day 7, think about re-engagement strategies (email, push notifications).
Tips for Improving Retention
- Email follow-ups: Send a welcome email or weekly digest to bring visitors back
- Content freshness: Regular new content gives people a reason to return
- Push notifications: For web apps, notify users about new activity
- Onboarding: A great first experience increases the chance of a return visit
What’s Next?
Need help? Reach out to us at support@eurometrics.eu.
