What is Dwell Time and Does It Affect Your Rankings

A visitor after clicking on a search result spends some time on that search result and then comes back to the search engine results page. This time from the first click and coming back is known as the dwell time. It can be considered as a ranking factor by the search engines. We can use it for judging a given result’s relevance and quality.

How dwell time, bounce rate and time on page are different from one another?

• Dwell time – We have already discussed above what is the dwell time. So, let us understand now the bounce rate and time on page.
• Bounce rate – If we divide single-page sessions by all the website sessions and calculate their percentage then it is known as the bounce rate.
• Time on page – A visitor after visiting a web page spends some time there and then goes to some other web page. Before going to any other web page, the time that he spends on that page is known as time on page.

We can use Google Analytics to view bounce rate and time on page. But for viewing the dwell time there is no such metric.

What role does dwell time play in SEO?

There may be several reasons for the visitors coming back from your site:

• Spammy site
• Misleading content
• Grammatical errors in the content
• Loading speed of the page is slow
• Not mobile-friendly site
• A lot of popup windows

Dwell time indicates the page content’s relevance and quality. If this time is more, then for the online users your page value will be more. This shows that your web page is capable of capturing the search intent of online users. Now for improving the search rankings you can create quality backlinks by taking its help.

Can we consider dwell time as a Google ranking signal?

No confirmation has been given to dwell time by Google for using it as a factor to rank a website. However, we can say that it helps Google in determining the usefulness and relevance of a web page and acts as a metric of user engagement. For giving a very good user experience to the users visiting your site and boosting the strategies of SEO you can get help from identifying the steps for calculating the dwell time.

Calculation of dwell time

You can use Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics for calculating the dwell time. You need to embed a code on Google Tag Manager. There are basically two parts of the code. One part checks if Google is responsible for making the online search. Another one checks if the user visiting a web page has come back to the same search engine results page. After performing the calculations, the data is fed into Google Analytics.

• It will be considered that the useful information is not provided by your content if the dwell time is 5 seconds.
• We can say that the user’s query is answered by your content if this time is 2 to 3 minutes.
• For the page visitors the content will be considered as engaging if this time is 5 minutes or more than this.

Steps for improving the dwell time

1. Know the search intent – You can build a strategy for optimizing the content if you understand the reason for performing an online search by the target audience. Doing extensive keyword research and thorough audience analysis for this will be a good idea.

2. Write engaging content – The strategy of content marketing can be successful if you write content that is according to the interest of the target audience. For this you need to keep in mind the following tips:

• Write a content that is action-oriented
• For emphasizing the important points use bullets
• Include subheadings
• Create the content of long-form
• Use links in between the content that can lead to a trustworthy page
• Write a strong conclusion in the end

3. Increase the use of internal linking – For increasing page interaction, facilitating website navigation and building authority, use internal links. But don’t use irrelevant links that look like spam. The search engine can penalize you for this. Use anchor text on those website pages that are relevant and most important.

4. Improve the readability of the content of the website – For online users and search spiders you can make your content understandable by improving its readability. You can do this by following certain tips:

• Write concise and clear sentences
• Write the content in active voice
• Use a tone that is professional and conversational
• Write it in a proper format
• Write it in a hierarchy

5. Use videos and engaging visuals – For capturing the attention of the target readers use those videos and visuals that are right. In addition to this consider the following tips:

• Create images in PNG or JPEG format
• Use those images that are unique
• Perform the optimization of alt tags

If you are running an online business and you want services of digital marketing for it then contact SEO company India.

Also Read :

• How Is A Long Tail Keyword Beneficial To Increase Traffic For A Website?
• 10 On-Page SEO Techniques To Boost SERPs Ranking
• THE 4 MAJOR SKILLS OF AN SEO EXPERT!
• 12 Best Off-Page Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Techniques of 2021
• Benefits of SEO for Your Website
• 6 Best Treasured Keywords Research Tools Free That Every SEO Needs
• 5 Things You Must Know About SEO in 2021