What is a Dwell Time?
Dwell time refers to the amount of time a user spends on a webpage after clicking on a search engine result but before returning to the search results page. It is considered a vital user experience metric and is believed to be a factor in how search engines evaluate a web page’s quality and relevance.
A longer dwell time suggests that users find the content engaging and valuable. At the same time, a shorter one may indicate that the content does not meet user expectations or is low quality. Several factors influence dwell time, including content quality, page load speed, and overall user experience.
To improve dwell time, informative, well-structured content that directly addresses user queries ensures fast loading times and maintains a user-friendly design is essential. While not a direct ranking factor, dwell time is closely linked to other SEO metrics like bounce rate and can indirectly impact search engine rankings by signaling user satisfaction.