Session Duration
Learn to think about time-on-site as a signal of both engagement and confusion; more time is not automatically a sign of positive improvement without understanding how that time is being spent.
What session duration actually measures
An individual session duration is the total amount of time a user spends on a website—from entrance point to exit point. In analytics tools you'll typically monitor the average session duration; the average length of time a user visitors you site.
A common misconception
On average, a longer session duration is typically a positive. Individually however, longer sessions may mean deep engagement—or it may mean someone is struggling to find something.
Why the context of a session duration matters
Looking at average session duration for a specific type of page or user journey can change the expectations for session length. Understanding what those expectations should be will help you in evaluating this metric.