What is Dwell Time, and How Does it Impact SEO?

Building a high-ranking website requires numerous complicated tasks. You have to track numerous metrics to optimise your website for better rankings.

One such metric is dwell time. If you're not aware of this, do not worry. This comprehensive post will help you understand it all. In this blog, we will first define dwell time and then move to further detailed information about it to help you understand its importance for SEO.

Dwell time refers to the time period users spend on your web page from the search results before returning to the SERP. So, what is a good dwell time? Yes, you guessed it right. The Longer the dwell time, the better it is. This period measures the time a user spends on your web page. It starts right after the user clicks on your page’s link appearing in the search result, and it ends when they go back to the search engine results page (SERP).

As you are now aware of the meaning of dwell time, delve deeper into its details by continuing reading.

Factors Affecting Dwell Time

Below are the top factors that affect dwell time.

Content Quality

The content displayed on your web page must be engaging and meaningful. You must add high-quality content to your website to make it relevant and keep visitors engaged for longer periods. Ensure the content is well-written, fulfils the user’s search intent and is informative.

Page Load Speed

Slow-loading pages are one of the most disappointing factors for a user’s browsing experience. Therefore, your website must have a high page-loading speed as it directly impacts dwell time.

User Experience

Another crucial factor affecting dwell time is user experience. Your website must have intuitive navigation, easy-to-use interfaces and clear layout. If your website offers a better user experience, they will spend more time on your website. Your website must have clear UX elements like readability, mobile responsiveness and menu design. These elements positively impact dwell time.

Relevance to Search Intent

Dwell time is also affected by the relevance of your web pages to user's search intent. If your content is more relevant to the search intent, the user will spend more time on your website. This is why you must have a thorough understanding of the keywords you are using in your content.

Multimedia Content

Written content on your web pages is undoubtedly significant. However, even multimedia content like images, videos, and infographics affect dwell time. Therefore, use them appropriately.

Internal Linking

Relevant linking of a web page to other web pages is another factor that affects dwell time. If you have relevant internal links on your web pages, the dwell time will be prolonged as the user explores other pages.

Mobile Optimisation

Unlike earlier, users do not just use their desktops and laptops for browsing. They also use their mobile phones for it. Therefore, the mobile-friendliness of your website is another factor affecting dwell time.

Website Trustworthiness

Dwell time is directly impacted by the trustworthiness of your website. Websites with secure connections have longer dwell times.

How to Calculate Dwell Time?

Dwell time is not a metric you can calculate by logging into Google Analytics. Your Google Analytics account does not provide insights on the time when the user goes back to the SERP. Hence, calculating dwell time needs extra effort. You can measure the average session duration by following the below given steps.

• Open the Google Analytics menu
• Click Behaviour. Then go to Site Content.
• Now, click Landing Pages.
• Choose the Add Segment option.
• Click the Organic Traffic box.
• Select Apply.
• Now, view the average session duration.

How to Improve Dwell Time?

After understanding what is a good dwell time, we know you might be curious to know about how you can improve it. So, here are some ways you can adopt to increase dwell time for your website.

Research the Search Intent

The content you offer on your website must answer the user’s search intent. So, research the search intent of your target audience and keywords. This will help you ensure that your content answers users' problems and queries. Following are the categories of user intent.

• Transactional
• Navigational
• Commercial
• Informational

Google uses several factors like historical search data to determine the search intent of the users. If your target keyword intends for commercial search then do not write blog posts. Instead use suitable content for commercial search intent. Always use content based upon the search intent of the visitors.

Use Easy-to-Find Content

Another great tip to enhance dwell time is to use easy-to-find content. Potential customers need fast answers to their Google searches. Therefore, your landing pages must be easily scannable so that Google can present them in SERPs. You can do the following to ensure your website content is easy to find.

• Create helpful headline
• Reduce the size of the header
• Use short paragraphs
• Break content into lists
• Offer graphics
• Be crisp

Remove Pop Ups and Scroll Content

Users do not like disruptions in their browsing experience. If they are disturbed by several popups or other elements while being on a website, they might quickly switch back to SERP. Therefore, to ensure longer dwell time, do not let pop-ups disturb them. You can add your content blockers for promotions, pop-up ads, and videos to appear when visitors scroll and not when they enter the webpage. Now, this does not mean you have to eliminate the advertisements from your web pages. It simply means you must move them to a less obstructive spot where they are still visible but do not disturb the user’s experience.

Use Videos

Another way to increase dwell time is by using videos. You must have long-form visual content on your web pages. They can significantly help increase the dwell time as such content hooks the users for a longer time. Visual content is quite interesting for the users. So, they usually watch it from start to end. Also, it is suggested that videos be included directly on the webpages to provide quick answers to the visitors. If your video is embedded in an article, make sure it is at the top of it to make it unmissable.

Use Long-Form Content

Content length is also an important contributor to dwell time. So, you must use long-form articles that require longer reading times. Such content pieces encourage users to spend more time on your web pages to acquire all the necessary information. However, lengthening your content does not mean you can make it boring. It must be crisp and engaging for the readers. Also, it must match the various factors considered by Google for content quality checks to rank the websites. Make your content informative and helpful for the visitors. Adding fluff information will simply make your rankings go down.

Fast Page Load Speed

In the present world, the internet is all about speed. Now, imagine your website takes quite a long to load when the user tries to view your web pages. Boring right? Your target audience will feel the same, and they might return to SERPs within no time. Therefore, it is essential to ensure maximum page load speed for your website. Ideally, your pages must load within a second.

Add Comment Section

Engaging with your audience is your ultimate goal. That is why you need to add a comment section on your web pages. Such sections will encourage users to ask questions and express their doubts about your products or services. Such comments allow you to interact with them. Also, engaging them in such sections directly increases dwell time.

How Dwell Time Impacts User Retention?

Dwell time is quite important for user retention as it directly influences it by reflecting engagement, user satisfaction and perceived content value. All these factors ultimately contribute to offering a positive user experience, enticing users to return. Longer dwell time acts as an indication of relevant, engaging and valuable content. Such content enhances user satisfaction and retention.

Read Also - What Does Topical Authority Mean in SEO and How Can You Establish It?

Bottom Line

From why is dwell time important to how to increase it, this post has furnished you with all the information you need. So, do not delay anymore and start working towards increasing the dwell time for your website. However, if you feel all this is too much for you to handle, let our experts do it for you the right way. DO Communication offers the best SEO services, and one of its parts is optimising your website for better dwell time. So, contact us today to hire our unmatchable services and see your business grow rapidly with our most effective SEO tactics.