Average Time On Site

AVS (Average Time On Site): Definition, Calculation and Examples 

As online activity increases, optimizing your website for visitor engagement is crucial. The goal is to keep visitors interested, not frustrated. The average time on page can provide you with insights to win users interested. In the following text you will gain mor details about this special metric, how it works and how to increase it.

Average Time On Site: What Does It Mean? 

Average time on site is a metric that measures the average amount of time that a website visitor spends on a particular website before leaving. This metric can provide insight into how engaged visitors are with a website and its content. It is calculated by adding up the total time visitors spend on a website and then dividing that number by the total number of visitors to the website.

A longer average time on site generally indicates that visitors find the website's content interesting and engaging. This can be an indicator of effective website design, content strategy, and user experience. However, a longer average time on site can also indicate that visitors are having difficulty finding the information they need, as they may be spending more time navigating the website.

Why Is Average Time On Page Important? 

More time spend on a website or app usually means people like the content. But the right time varies based on your content type and website goals. A business owner running an eCommerce website has as target to win lots of visitors spending enough but not too much time on his website, while an author with a blog wants to gain users staying much longer on the website. Therefore, an entrepreneur should know the average time customers spend on the site.

How To Calculate Average Time On Site 

The time spent on a web page is figured out by measuring how long someone stays on it from the moment they arrive until they leave or click to another page. If they leave without going to another page, the time spent on that page is zero, which is called a "bounce."

Here is the formula for finding the average time on a page:

Average Time on Page = Total Time Spent on Page / (Total Page Views – (Exits + Bounces))

To get a better comprehension of how to use the formula, here is a simplified example of the calculation:

Suppose we are calculating the average time on page metric for two different pages, which we will refer to as “Page no. 1” and “Page no. 2”. Let us imagine that Page A had 132 views, a total of 10,000 seconds spend on this page and 12 exits including bounces:

  • Total Time Spent on Page = 10,000 Seconds
  • Net Page Views = 132 – 12 = 120
  • Average Time on Page = 10,000 / (132 - 12) = 10,000 / 20 = 500

Meanwhile, Page B had for the same time period 280 views, 8,000 seconds and 45 exits including bounces:

  • Total Time Spent on Page = 8,000 Seconds
  • Net Page Views = 295 – 45 = 250
  • Average Time on Page = 80,000 / (295 - 45) = 80,000 / 250 = 320

To sum up, Page A has an average time on page of 500 seconds, while Page B has an average time on site of 320 seconds.

How To Increase the AVS? 

The average time on page is a useful digital marketing metric in order to improve your website and attract more visitors. Here you can find common methods to increase the average time spent on pages:

  1. Speed up website for a faster load time,
  2. Create high-quality content that is relevant to your target audience,
  3. Make your website easy to navigate,
  4. Use internal links to keep visitors exploring your website,
  5. Offer interactive content such as videos, quizzes, and games,
  6. Optimize your website for mobile devices.

Takeaways About the Average Time On Site 

  • Average time on site measures how long visitors stay on a website showing engagement but varying in dependence of the content and goals. Longer time can be good but may also mean visitors struggle to find what they need.
  • By calculating the average time of a page, you will find out the time visitors spend on a page before leaving or going to another. To calculate it divide the total time spend on page by subtracting total exits from total page views.
  • Boosting average time on page is vital for digital marketing success. To achieve this, focus on speeding up loading times, providing quality and relevant content, easy navigation, internal links, interactive elements, and mobile optimization.

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