There are a lot of stats to look at when viewing Google Analytics and average session duration is one of them. This article will cover what is average session duration and why bloggers should care about it. Even if you’re not a blogger, you may want to read in on this.
Average Session Duration – What is it?
According to Google,
Average session duration is total duration of all sessions (in seconds) / number of sessions.
A single session is calculated from the first time someone views your page, to the last page view of that person. So, if someone enters your site and visits a few places, say 5, on it that takes them 10 minutes, then their session is 10 minutes, or 600 seconds. If their session is one page and only 30 seconds, then their total session is 30 seconds.
The average session duration is taking the total time of the session divided by the number of sessions during a specific date range.
Average Session Duration – Why Bloggers Should Care
Average session duration can be influenced by bounce rate, page views, and sessions, but for some, this could be a indicator of how much people like to stay on specific areas of your website. For bloggers, this allows them to know if an article has been well received.
Google loves long form content. This has been said over and over by many leaders in the SEO industry. However, Google also has suggested that content in a post be at least 300 words.
Well, 300 words doesn’t take long to read. If you’re a blogger that constantly published content that ranges around 300 words, you’re not really beefing up the potential of time that your readers are spending on your website. Often, the reader will skim through in under a minute, possibly comment, and then leave.
Rather than giving the reader a “wham bam thank you mam” experience, why not do some of the following to possibly increase the average session duration, and thusly your reader’s interest in remaining on your website:
- Create a series of posts and interlink them. People who have an interest for the topic will click to each topic and stay on the site longer.
- Always find ways to link to other relevant posts in your website. Whether it’s a specific term that you explain or some other relevant content, this gives the reader a possible option to be curious enough to click that link and read more.
- Have cornerstone content that is lengthier and filled will several methods in which the reader can digest your content. Aside from long form text, don’t forget that you can add images, video and audio to expand upon your point. Cornerstone content is usually quite lengthy (more than 1500 words), and sometimes may even seem like it should be in an ebook.
- Don’t forget to link to your services, encourage visitors to comment, or ask readers to subscribe to your newsletter. It’s your website, don’t be shy. All of these encourage some type of positive action that brings them to another place on your website.
- Most bloggers will probably look more at their page views, but seriously, if you’re setting goals on individual pages, you may want to also focus on whether people are staying on those pages or going to the places you want them too.
- Add video to your content. Video can serve as a nice companion to the text within your article, and keep people on your website longer.
Have you taken the time to look at your site or individual article’s average session duration?
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