Dwell Time

The amount of time a user spends engaging with your content before leaving or taking action.
Tags:metricsuser engagementquality signalsSEOuser experience

Dwell time is how long visitors stay on your page and actually engage with your content. It's a quality signal that tells platforms whether your content is useful.

Why dwell time matters:

When someone clicks your ad or search result and stays for 3 minutes reading, that's a positive signal. If they leave after 5 seconds, that's a negative signal.

Platforms use this data to determine content quality. Longer dwell time = better rankings and lower ad costs.

What affects dwell time:

  • Content quality and relevance
  • Page load speed
  • Readability (formatting, font size, spacing)
  • Mobile experience
  • Visual engagement (images, videos)

How to improve dwell time:

  1. Hook them fast: Make the first paragraph count
  2. Use visuals: Break up text with images and videos
  3. Format for scanning: Headers, bullets, short paragraphs
  4. Match intent: Deliver what your ad or headline promised
  5. Add depth: Give them a reason to keep reading
Dwell time is especially important for content-heavy landing pages. If you're running ads to blog posts or long-form content, low dwell time means your content isn't resonating — even if you're getting clicks.

Frequently Asked Questions