There’s no arguing that search engine optimization (SEO) is critical to company success. Organic search results continue to be the most important source of website traffic across all industries examined, according to our State of Content Marketing 2019 Global Report. What Is Dwell Time in SEO and Why Is It Important?
While investing in SEO is unquestionably a wise decision, you will only realize the benefits of that investment if you practice smart SEO. How can you be sure you’re doing everything correctly? Metrics are the solution. Measuring the performance of your SEO endeavors reveals where you’re doing wrong or well, allowing you to adjust your optimization efforts as required.
However, Google considers over 200 ranking variables. It might be difficult to determine which ranking elements are important. When reviewing SEO analytics, one factor to consider is dwell time. This post includes a basic overview of it as well as tried-and-true strategies for increasing dwell duration on your webpages. Here’s what we’ll be talking about:
What Exactly Is Dwell Time?
It is the period of time between when a user clicks on a search result and when they return to the search engine results pages (SERPs). It’s a measure of a user’s dwell time – how long they spend on a page, starting and finishing with the SERPs. This final element distinguishes it from “time on page” and “bounce rate” (more on that below).
What Is the Difference Between Dwell Time, Bounce Rate, and Time on Page?
It is critical to distinguish between “time on page” and “bounce rate” when considering dwell time definition. Here’s a quick rundown.
Dwell time
Once again, the important differential is that dwell time begins and ends with the SERPs.
Time on page: This is the amount of time a user spends on a page before leaving. That is to say, somewhere else. They might navigate to another page on your website, an external link in your content, or even the search engine results pages. Time on page is determined using two clicks: the one that takes the user to the page in question and the one that takes the user away from it.
Bounce rate
A single-page session occurs when a visitor only sees one page on your website before leaving. The bounce rate is the percentage of single-page sessions on a website. The bounce rate might cause a visitor returning to the SERPs or leaving the page. It doesn’t matter if they spend one second or one hour on the page; it’s still considered a bounce.
Now, if the time on page is minimal, it might indicate that the user received the answer they required fast and, as a result, exited the website swiftly. The same is true for the bounce rate: the user may have obtained the information they required and closed the window after a fast look.
Does Dwell Time Affect How a Page Is Ranked?
While dwell time commonly assume to have a factor in Google results, the search engine giant stays mum on the subject. When you look at a Google Analytics dashboard, you’ll see that time on page and bounce rate are important aspects. However, dwell duration does not displayed as a measure.
Google has never made an official declaration on how and if it affects rankings. However, there have been suggestions that it is being considered. Nick Frost, the head of Google Brain, was cited as stating during a conference in 2017:
“Google is now incorporating machine learning into [the process of determining the association between a search and the best page for that search]. So training models on when someone clicks on a page and remains on that page, when they go back, or when they are attempting to find out exactly what relationship they are looking for.”
Dwell Time Calculation
You’re probably wondering how to measure dwell time because it doesn’t exist in Google Analytics. There is no method for calculating it. But don’t give up hope. It may calculate in Google Analytics by utilizing the “Average Session Duration” feature. This is the average amount of time a person spends on your site after landing on one of your pages.
Step by step, here’s how you can use it to estimate your average dwell time:
- Access your Google Analytics account.
- Select “Behavior.”
- Select “Site Content.”
- Select “Landing Pages.”
- Make a “New Segment” and indicate that you only want to see “Organic Traffic.”
- The statistic “Avg. Session Duration” will then appear.
What use is this information? It, like any other measure, allows you to see what is and isn’t functioning. If you compare your dwell time across several pages, one in particular sticks out for having a four-minute dwell time, whereas the others had less than two minutes. Examine that webpage. What makes it unique? Perhaps it includes extra text, special pictures, or a video. These are just a few ideas for increasing dwell duration. Continue reading to learn more.
How to Extend Dwell Time
Understanding the definition of dwell time and how to calculate it is just half the fight. You must now determine how to improve dwell time SEO rankings. Here are some suggestions.
