How Does New Visitor Detection Work in Marketing Automation?

How does the system detect new visitors in Marketing Automation?

The system uses two cookies to determine whether a visitor is new or returning:

1. wtstp_nv_s - A session cookie.

2. wtstp_nv - A persistent cookie with a 6-month expiration.

Each cookie can have one of two values:

• 1 - New visitor

• 0 - Returning visitor

What happens when a visitor first comes to the website?

When someone visits the website, the system checks for the existence of the wtstp_nv cookie. If this cookie does not exist, both the wtstp_nv and wtstp_nv_s cookies are created with a value of 1, marking the visitor as a new visitor.

How does the system recognize a returning visitor?

The status change from new visitor to returning visitor is controlled by the session cookie wtstp_nv_s. This session cookie must be deleted to change the visitor’s status. The session cookie wtstp_nv_s is typically deleted when the visitor closes their browser. When the visitor returns to the website, the system checks the wtstp_nv cookie again and, if it exists, changes its value from 1 to 0, marking the visitor as a returning visitor.

Simply closing the browser tab will not delete the session cookie. The entire browser must be closed for the session cookie to be dropped.

Where can I filter on new visitors in marketing automation?

You can use real-time behavior filters to target new visitors based on the visitor status determined by the cookies.
Find more information on this page: Marketing Automation - User Interface