Average time on site (also known as average time on page) is the amount of time users spend on a webpage viewing certain content. Depending on the type of content your business provides, the length of each visit may differ, but a normal session lasts from 2 to 4 minutes. One also needs to understand that metrics and statistics can be inaccurate due to the human factor. For example, Google Analytics provides a report on an average time spent by users on your website excluding only the bounce rate (when users leave after viewing the landing page without any forms of interaction). Thus, if you open a webpage, interact with it, and leave without closing this tab, Google Analytics will continue measuring your time spent on this page (even though you remain idle).
The amount of time spent on the website depends on the type of content you provide and requires business owners to set time expectations for each page. For example, you have an article on your page, which requires 6 minutes to read. If the average time spent on the page with this article is close to 4-5 minutes then it is a good sign. However, if the average time is 1-2 minutes then the average time is considered short.
It can happen because of 3 potential reasons:
On the other hand, a long session on the website isn’t always a good sign either. For instance, let’s take an ecommerce shop. If you have a webpage that requires additional actions (add goods to your cart or click other links) you want visitors to spend an average amount of time. Again, this requires in-depth knowledge of how much time users need to spend and what exactly they are looking for. For these reasons many ecommerce businesses provide a virtual assistant, to whom you can ask questions or send an inquiry.
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