The next basic statistic people often throw around in conversation is pageviews (sometimes also referred to as page impressions.)
The statistic pageview indicates the total number of times any HTML page or non-HTML requested 'page' (.pdf file for example) was requested on the site. This statistic definitely carries more value than the previous ‘hits’ statistic but can also provide a clouded view of what is happening on your website.
The statistic can be referred to in two ways. First from a overall site standpoint and secondly at an individual page level.
When considering pageviews alone from an overall site standpoint you are forced to take an average and apply it to each visit to the site. The reason is one user could come to your site and request a single page and then leave, while the next visitor could come to your site and make 40 page requests. From this number all you can tell is the total number of requests for the site for the period.
At an individual page level it becomes a little more relevant. Simply, the pageviews of an individual page represent the number of times that page was requested. Again you can experience similar issues as previously noted but you can also draw a conclusion that the content found on the specific page may be very important to your website visitors if the pageviews for that specific page increase.