snowplow_unified_views.yaml

name: SNOWPLOW_UNIFIED_VIEWS
description: |
  Snowplow Unified Digital (Web) is a dbt package that converts raw Snowplow behavioral events into three analytics-ready entities: views, sessions, and users. It standardizes and enriches event data (e.g., content, device, geo, traffic attribution) and computes engagement metrics such as engaged time and scroll depth, producing a reliable canonical layer for product analytics, funnel/journey reporting, experimentation, and ML/LLM use.

  The core tables relate hierarchically: 
  `snowplow_unified_views` has one row per content view (page/screen), capturing view-level context and engagement; 
  `snowplow_unified_sessions` aggregates all activity within a visit into one row per session, rolling up view and event behaviors into session metrics; 
  `snowplow_unified_users` aggregates sessions into one row per user, providing user traits and lifetime/rolling metrics, including optional identity stitching (e.g., `stitched_user_id`) across devices and login states. 

  Together, these tables replace repeated event-level aggregation with consistent, governed definitions and cost-efficient incremental models, making behavioral analysis and AI consumption simpler and more trustworthy.

  Value notes:
  - Snowplow-generated identifiers (pageview id, domain user id, session id) are UUIDs - examples: 00112233-4455-6677-8899-aabbccddeeff, 00000000-1111-2222-3333-444455556666
  - Company's internal userid might be anything the company defines.
  - Timestamp columns follow ISO-8601-style datetime format: yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss.SSSZ - examples: 2025-01-01T10:10:10.010+0000, 2025-01-01T20:32:45.276+0000

  {{YOUR_BUSINESS_DESCRIPTION_HERE}}
  Example Co is a company established in 2000. Key industry is A. Key products are A, B, C.
  Company uses Snowplow to track web behaviour on these company's websites:
  - your_app -- https://example.com -- Example Co's main website. Example Co is a company that sells A, B, C and uses this website as an e-commerce platform.
  - your_app_support -- https://support.example.com -- Example Co's support website. Example Co uses Support website to help customers use their products.

tables:
  - name: SNOWPLOW_UNIFIED_SESSIONS
    description: This table stores information about user sessions, including session metadata, user information, device and browser details, geographic location, marketing campaign data, and engagement metrics, providing a comprehensive view of user behavior and interactions with a website or application.
    base_table:
      database: {{YOUR_DATABASE}}
      schema: DERIVED # update this if you use non-default schema
      table: SNOWPLOW_UNIFIED_SESSIONS
    dimensions:
      - name: APP_ID
        description: The application or system that initiated the Snowplow session.
        expr: APP_ID
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - website
          - docs
      - name: DEFAULT_CHANNEL_GROUP
        description: The channel through which the user initially entered the website, categorized into groups such as paid advertising, email campaigns, or unassigned sources.
        expr: DEFAULT_CHANNEL_GROUP
        data_type: VARCHAR(25)
        sample_values:
          - Unassigned
          - Paid Search
          - Email
      - name: DEVICE_CATEGORY
        description: The type of device used by the user during the session, categorized as Phone, Tablet, or Desktop.
        expr: DEVICE_CATEGORY
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - Phone
          - Tablet
          - Desktop
      - name: DEVICE_IDENTIFIER
        description: Unique identifier for the device used to access the application or website, allowing for tracking of user behavior across sessions on the same device.
        expr: DEVICE_IDENTIFIER
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - 00112233-4455-6677-8899-aabbccddeeff
          - 00000000-1111-2222-3333-444455556666
      - name: DEVICE_SESSION_INDEX
        description: A unique identifier for a user's device session, allowing for the tracking of individual user interactions across multiple sessions on the same device.
        expr: DEVICE_SESSION_INDEX
        data_type: NUMBER(38,0)
        sample_values:
          - '2'
          - '10'
          - '42'
      - name: ENGAGED_TIME_IN_S
        description: The total amount of time (in seconds) the user was actively engaged with the website or application during the session.
        expr: ENGAGED_TIME_IN_S
        data_type: NUMBER(22,0)
        sample_values:
          - '40'
          - '60'
          - '70'
      - name: EVENT_COUNTS
        description: This column stores the count of different types of events that occurred during a user's session, including page pings, application errors, link clicks, and page views, providing insight into user behavior and application performance.
        expr: EVENT_COUNTS
        data_type: VARIANT
        sample_values:
          - |-
            {
              "page_ping": 9
            }
          - |-
            {
              "event": 2,
              "page_ping": 12,
              "page_view": 2
            }
          - |-
            {
              "event": 3,
              "link_click": 1,
              "page_ping": 3,
              "page_view": 3
            }
      - name: FIRST_EVENT_NAME
        description: The type of event that triggered the start of the session.
        expr: FIRST_EVENT_NAME
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - page_ping
          - page_view
      - name: FIRST_GEO_CITY
        description: The city where the user's session originated from, based on their IP address.
        expr: FIRST_GEO_CITY
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - London
          - New-York
      - name: FIRST_GEO_COUNTRY
        description: The country where the user's session originated, based on geolocation data.
        expr: FIRST_GEO_COUNTRY
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - GB
          - US
      - name: FIRST_GEO_COUNTRY_NAME
        description: The country of origin of the user's first geolocation event during the session.
        expr: FIRST_GEO_COUNTRY_NAME
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
          - Canada
      - name: FIRST_PAGE_TITLE
        description: The title of the first page visited by a user during a session, providing insight into the entry point of the user's journey on the website.
        expr: FIRST_PAGE_TITLE
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - Example Page
          - Blog Example Title
      - name: FIRST_PAGE_URL
        description: The URL of the first page visited by a user during a session.
        expr: FIRST_PAGE_URL
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - https://example.com
          - https://example.com/a/b/c
          - https://blog.example.com/categories
      - name: FIRST_PAGE_URLHOST
        description: The domain of the first page visited by the user during the session.
        expr: FIRST_PAGE_URLHOST
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - example.com
          - blog.example.com
      - name: FIRST_PAGE_URLPATH
        description: The URL path of the first page visited by the user during the session.
        expr: FIRST_PAGE_URLPATH
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - /
          - /a/b/c
          - /categories
      - name: FIRST_PAGE_URLQUERY
        description: The URL query string of the first page visited by a user during a session, which may contain parameters such as campaign IDs, keywords, and source information.
        expr: FIRST_PAGE_URLQUERY
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - utm_campaign=website&utm_medium=email
          - hidden=false&rows=10&search=
      - name: IS_ENGAGED
        description: 'Indicates whether the user was actively engaged with the application during the session, meaning they performed at least one of the following actions: scroll, click, or key press.'
        expr: IS_ENGAGED
        data_type: BOOLEAN
        sample_values:
          - 'TRUE'
          - 'FALSE'
      - name: LAST_EVENT_NAME
        description: The name of the last event that occurred during a user's session.
        expr: LAST_EVENT_NAME
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - page_view
      - name: LAST_GEO_CITY
        description: The city where the user was located when the session was recorded, as determined by geolocation data.
        expr: LAST_GEO_CITY
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - London
          - New-York
      - name: LAST_GEO_COUNTRY
        description: The country from which the user accessed the application, based on their geolocation.
        expr: LAST_GEO_COUNTRY
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - US
          - GB
      - name: LAST_GEO_COUNTRY_NAME
        description: The country of origin of the user's geolocation, as determined by their IP address.
        expr: LAST_GEO_COUNTRY_NAME
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - Singapore
          - United States of America
      - name: LAST_PAGE_TITLE
        description: The title of the last page visited by a user during a session.
        expr: LAST_PAGE_TITLE
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - Example Title
          - Blog Post Example Title
      - name: LAST_PAGE_URL
        description: The URL of the last page visited by the user during the session.
        expr: LAST_PAGE_URL
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - https://example.com
          - https://example.com/a/b/c
          - https://blog.example.com/categories
      - name: LAST_PAGE_URLHOST
        description: The URL host of the last page visited by the user during the session.
        expr: LAST_PAGE_URLHOST
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - example.com
          - blog.example.com
      - name: LAST_PAGE_URLPATH
        description: The URL path of the last page visited by the user during the session.
        expr: LAST_PAGE_URLPATH
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - /
          - /a/b/c
          - /categories
      - name: LAST_PAGE_URLQUERY
        description: The URL query parameters of the last page visited by the user during a session, including UTM tracking codes and Google Ads click IDs.
        expr: LAST_PAGE_URLQUERY
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - utm_campaign=website&utm_medium=email
          - hidden=false&rows=10&search=
      - name: MKT_CAMPAIGN
        description: The marketing campaign that drove the user to the website.
        expr: MKT_CAMPAIGN
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - example_campaign
          - utm_campaign_example_2025
      - name: MKT_CONTENT
        description: Marketing content identifier, a unique code associated with a specific marketing content or campaign.
        expr: MKT_CONTENT
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - '123'
          - 'blog-article-123'
      - name: MKT_MEDIUM
        description: The marketing medium through which a user accessed the website, such as a specific advertising campaign, social media platform, or email newsletter.
        expr: MKT_MEDIUM
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - email
      - name: MKT_NETWORK
        description: The marketing network through which the user accessed the website or application, such as Google or Microsoft.
        expr: MKT_NETWORK
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - Google
          - Microsoft
      - name: MKT_SOURCE
        description: The marketing source that initiated the user's session, such as a Pardot campaign, email, or GitHub referral.
        expr: MKT_SOURCE
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
        sample_values:
          - email
          - github
      - name: MKT_SOURCE_PLATFORM
        description: The platform through which a marketing campaign was sourced, such as Facebook, Google, or Email.
        expr: MKT_SOURCE_PLATFORM
        data_type: VARCHAR(16777216)
      - name: MKT_TERM
        description: The marketing term or keyword that trig...