What is average session duration?
Average session duration is a metric used in web analytics, particularly in Google Analytics, to measure the average length of time a user spends on a website during a single session. It is typically expressed in seconds, minutes, or hours.
The calculation for average session duration is typically done by dividing the total duration of all sessions (in seconds, minutes, or hours) by the number of sessions during the same time frame.
This metric can be useful in understanding user behavior on a website. For example, a longer average session duration could indicate that users are highly engaged with the website's content, while a shorter average session duration could suggest the opposite. However, it's important to consider this metric in context with other data, as a shorter session duration could also mean that users are quickly finding what they need.
Why is average session duration important?
Average session duration is an important metric because it can provide valuable insights into user behavior and engagement on a website. Here are some reasons why it's significant:
Understanding User Engagement
Average session duration is a crucial metric for understanding user engagement with your website. It helps to know how long visitors are staying on your site, which can indicate the level of interest in your content. If visitors are staying for longer periods, it generally implies they find your content valuable and engaging.
Identifying Areas of Improvement
By monitoring the average session duration, you can identify areas that need improvement. If certain pages have a lower average session duration compared to others, it could indicate that the content on these pages isn't as engaging or relevant to visitors. This insight allows you to make strategic changes to improve user experience and engagement.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Changes
After making changes to your website (such as updating content, redesigning pages, or implementing a new user interface), you can use average session duration as one of the metrics to gauge the effectiveness of those changes. If the average session duration increases after a change, it may indicate that the change has improved user engagement.
Supporting SEO Efforts
Search engines like Google use user engagement metrics, like session duration, as one of the signals to rank web pages. A higher average session duration can potentially improve your SEO ranking as it indicates that visitors find your website useful and engaging, which is what search engines want to provide for their users.
Guiding Content Strategy
Average session duration can help guide your content strategy. If visitors are spending more time on certain types of content, it indicates that they find this content more valuable or interesting. You can use this information to focus your content creation efforts on similar topics or formats.
Remember, while average session duration is a valuable metric, it's most effective when used in conjunction with other metrics, such as bounce rate, pages per session, and conversion rate, to give a more holistic view of your website's performance.
How is average session duration calculated for a website?
Average session duration for websites is calculated wih the same formula for apps; take the total session durations over a period of time and divide it by the number of individual sessions over the same time period.
Formula of Avg Session Duration?
Average session duration is calculated using the formula of total duration of all sessions divided by the number of total sessions over the same time frame.
How Does Google Analytics Calculate Average Session Duration?
Google Analytics calculates average session duration over a period of time by dividing the total time of all sessions by the number of individual sessions in the same time window.
What Is Good Average Session Duration?
The concept of a "good" average session duration can vary depending on the type of website or app, the intended user experience, and the specific goals you have in mind. Here are some general considerations:
Informational Websites/Blogs
For informational websites and blogs, a longer session duration often indicates that users are finding your content valuable and engaging. In such cases, an average session duration of 2-3 minutes might be considered good. Some highly engaging content can even boast much higher averages.
E-Commerce Websites
For e-commerce websites, the ideal session duration can be tricky to pin down. A very long session could indicate that users are having difficulty finding what they're looking for, while a very short session could mean they aren't sufficiently engaged to browse products. The average session duration might be considered good if it aligns with successful user journeys that include product discovery, evaluation, and purchase.
News Websites
For news websites, a "good" average session duration could depend on whether you're more focused on breaking news (which might entail shorter sessions) or in-depth reporting (which could lead to longer sessions).
Social Media Apps
For social media platforms, longer session durations often indicate high levels of user engagement. However, there is increasing concern about the potential negative effects of very high engagement levels, such as digital addiction.
Landing Pages
For landing pages designed to immediately convert visitors, a shorter session duration might actually be a good sign, especially if it corresponds with a high conversion rate.
Overall
A good approach is to consider your average session duration in the context of other metrics like bounce rate, conversion rate, and page views per session. Always consider what you are aiming to achieve with your website or app and evaluate your performance metrics in that context.
For a more nuanced understanding, segmenting your session duration by user demographics, source of traffic, or type of content can give you a more detailed picture of how different groups engage with your platform.
Finally, continual A/B testing can help you understand the impact of changes to your website or app on session duration and other key metrics.
Does the average session duration include bounces?
Average session duration does not include bounces or exits. The bounce rate of an app or website is a seperate engqagement metric that does not affect average session duration.
Ways to increase average session duration
Strategies that are aimed at increasing engagement and creating a positive user experience can help increase average session duration. Here are a few to get started with:
Publish rich content
Dynamic, engaging content is the best way to keep users engaged. Focus on easy to consume, visually rich content such a Stories, shoppable videos, and interactive elements like quizzes and polls.
Show users where to go next
Link to more relevant content connected to topics that interest users or provide product recommendations to help users continue browsing and interacting with your app or website.
Prioritize user value
Make sure your user interface is easy to navigate and that visitors to your app or website can quickly and reliably get the most out of their experience.
