Dwell Time
Dwell time is the amount of time a user spends on a webpage after clicking through from a search engine results page (SERP) before returning to the search engine results.
It is a metric used by SEO professionals to understand how engaging a webpage is to users and can be an indicator of the quality of the content.
Importance in SEO
Dwell time is not a direct ranking factor, but it is believed to be a signal that search engines use to assess the quality and relevance of a webpage. Pages with longer dwell times may be considered more relevant and user-friendly, which could potentially lead to higher search engine rankings.
Example
If a user clicks on a search result and spends 5 minutes on the page before returning to the SERP, the dwell time for that click would be 5 minutes.
Do
- Focus on creating high-quality, engaging content that encourages users to spend more time on your site.
- Optimize your website for a better user experience, including fast load times and intuitive navigation.
- Monitor dwell time metrics to identify pages that may need improvement.
Don’t
- Over-optimize for dwell time; instead, focus on providing value to users.
- Rely solely on dwell time as a measure of SEO success; it’s just one piece of the puzzle.
- Obsess over dwell time to the point where it detracts from other important SEO tasks.
- Forget that dwell time is influenced by many factors beyond your control, such as the user’s intent and the search query.