Understanding Average Time on Page: What You Need to Know
Many of you may recognise "average time on page" as a common metric for gauging visitor engagement on websites. While it seems straightforward to use a single number to indicate how long users spend on a page, this approach can be misleading.
The Challenge with Averages
User engagement varies significantly, and factors like leaving pages open in a browser can skew the average time reported. For instance, consider a scenario where 10 people view a page: eight spend just 1 minute, while one spends 10 minutes and another spends 12 minutes. The average time calculated here would be: (1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+10+12) / 10 = 3 minutes.
If this page was a news article intended to be read in about 3 minutes, reporting an average time of 3 minutes could falsely suggest that most users engaged with the content, when in fact, 80% of visitors barely skimmed it.
The Importance of Typical Time Ranges
To provide a more accurate picture of engagement, we present a “Typical Time” range. This metric reflects the time that the majority of visitors spend on a page, smoothing out anomalies and delivering a clearer indication of how users interact with intranet content.
In our earlier example, while the average suggests a reading time of 3 minutes, the typical time would show that most users engaged for only 1 minute. This perspective gives a more realistic understanding of content engagement.
Why We Choose Typical Time
While it may feel unconventional not to rely on a single figure, using a typical time range helps you better understand visitor behavior. This approach encourages more informed decision-making regarding content adjustments.
Remember, while our example may seem extreme, it highlights the importance of accurately representing user engagement. In most cases, the time spent on a page will vary, and using typical time ranges offers insights that averages simply cannot provide.