| Access counters usually count the total number of requests made to send the requested page across the internet, no matter how many times an individual makes the request. This counter is different; it counts the number of unique computer internet addresses making the request. Thus no matter how often access requests are made from a particular computer, the computer (or more precisely the computer's internet address) | from which the requests are made is registered only once. This gives us a better idea of how many people are actually accessing the page. Three limitations with this method are that it will undercount to the extent that many people use the same computer, overcount to the extent one person uses many computers, and provides no information about return visits. |