The dwell time is an important key figure in online marketing and especially in the field of search engine optimization (SEO). It indicates how long a visitor stays on a web page before navigating back to the search engine results page (SERP) or performing another action. The dwell time is an indicator of how relevant and useful a user finds the displayed content of a web page.
Relevance of dwell time for SEO
Dwell time is considered by search engines like Google as one of the factors to assess the quality of a web page and its relevance to certain search queries. A longer dwell time may indicate that the content of the page is relevant for the user and that his questions are answered. Google and other search engines might take this as a signal of the high quality of the web page and position it accordingly higher in the search results.
Calculation of the dwell time
Dwell time can be measured using web analytics tools such as Google Analytics or Matomo. These tools collect data about visitors' interaction with a website, such as the time they spend on each page, the number of pages visited, and the bounce rate. By analyzing this data, the average dwell time of a website or individual pages can be determined. However, it is important to note that dwell time is not confused with session duration or bounce rate, as they are different metrics.
Improvement of the dwell time
To improve dwell time, website owners should aim to make their content as engaging, relevant, and informative as possible. Some strategies for improving dwell time include:
- Create high-quality and informative content that meets visitors' needs and questions
- Incorporate visual elements such as images, videos, or infographics to make the content more engaging
- Optimization of page speed and loading time
- Improve usability and navigation
- Use internal linking to encourage users to spend more time on the site and consume more content
By improving dwell time, website owners can not only improve their SEO performance, but also increase the overall value of their website from a visitor's perspective, which can lead to a better user experience and higher conversion rate.
