“Best mobile app development companies in Phoenix, Arizona”
“Translation jobs near me”
“Recipe to make chocolate croissant at home”
These are some of the search results. And how does this process work? The user will click the first organic result, and they will see if the article/blog/content of any format is valuable or not.
If yes, they will stay and take their time in absorbing it.
But if it is not, they will return to SERPs and click the following organic result.
What is it called? It is called “DWELLING TIME.”
Dwelling Time
The time, user spends from clicking the result listed on SERPs to returning to SERPs is called DWELLING TIME.
If a user spends 10 seconds on the website before returning to Google or any other search engine, then 10 seconds is called Dwelling Time.
And if he spends 5 minutes scouring through the website before returning to SERP, then the Dwelling Time is 5 minutes.
It is one of the deciding factors whether the content is doing good or not. The creators might have gone above and beyond for the content, but if the user is not even spending 10 seconds of dwelling time, then it is not catchy and attractive enough.
Thus, dwelling time is one of the most important, if not the most important, factors in SEO ranking and conversion factor.
Is Dwelling Time an SEO Ranking and Conversion Factor?
To answer the above question, YES. Dwelling time plays a vital role in the SEO ranking and conversion factor of the website.
And not just a website, but Dwelling Time is essential for social media marketing as well. To learn more about social media marketing strategy, click effective digital marketing channels that are competent.
However, lowering the dwelling time doesn’t necessarily mean that content quality is compromised or the website is not legit. It also means that the user seeking certain information may have received it at the top of the page, and they need not dwell further. It depends more or less on search intent.
So, the conclusion could be derived that while dwelling time is one of the critical factors in SEO ranking and conversions, it might not be directly involved with the process. For example, if a person is searching for a particular point in the article and if they are directed to the page of Semrush or Search Engine Journal.
The ranking factor of these sites, as mentioned above, may not depend on Dwelling Factor, but that might not be true for other sites. Nonetheless, it is wise to prepare for the worst while hoping for the best.
Below mentioned are the strategies to optimize Dwelling Time, but before that, let’s take out our few seconds of Dwelling Time and see what Dwelling Time is not.
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Not a Bounce Rate
Dwelling Time is not a Bounce Rate because a bounce rate occurs when someone views only one page and leaves.
The bouncers might not have necessarily come from SERPs. And even if they have, they might not have gone back to SERPs and might have closed their laptops altogether.
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Not a Session Duration
The session duration metrics measure the time someone has spent on the website. They might not necessarily have come from SERPs. They might have known exactly which website address to type in the address bar.
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Not a Click – Through Rate
CTR (Click – Through Rate) is the percentage of people who clicked your link as to the percentage of people who saw your link on SERPs. Dwell is concerned with what happens after the click and whether they return to the same SERP or not.
As mentioned above, it is the amount of time a user spends clicking the link from SERP to return to SERP.
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Not an Average Time on Page
The average time is the amount of time someone spends on one of your website pages on average. These are users who might have come from social media or a link to another web page.
And that certainly doesn’t qualify as Dwelling Time.
What Are the Dwelling Time Optimization Strategies?
1. Revamp Your Content Time and Again
Everyone who knows about SEO knows that content plays a crucial role and needs to be revamped repeatedly for better results. It needs to be tweaked according to current market trends such that one seeking the content shouldn’t feel that it is outdated or inapplicable to them.
2. Go Mobile First
Mobile-First Websites are the ones that get clicked the most on mobile phones. Websites that are only desktop friendly are on the verge of extinction, like dinosaurs. Thus, please don’t become a dinosaur and make your website mobile-first and see how it works miracles for prolonged Dwelling Time.
3. Increase the Site Loading Speed
The loading speed of a website is what decides whether a person will stay here for a second more or not. They do not click the link to see the buffering symbol.
Too much depends on internet speed as well, but it is better to be safe from our end to improve the dwelling time. Click to see 11 easy and practical ways to optimize website performance.
4. Create Interactive Elements
People like to interact. They want to comment on blogs and articles, engage in conversations, debates, and arguments and express their opinion.
Gone are the days when they used to shy away from speaking and writing what was in their mind.
Thus, by allowing them to give their inputs in the form of comments, participation, suggestions, etc., you will improve your website as well as social media’s Dwelling Time.
5. Internal Linking Is an Important Key
Internal linking will allow people to spend more time on your website, which will not only make Dwelling Time better, but Session Duration will increase, and bounce rates will decrease. Need we say more?
Parting Thoughts:
Now that you know that you must work on your Dwelling Time, what are you planning to do about it? What steps or measures are you going to take to correct it?
Confused?
Don’t worry; here are some of the top SEO agencies at your rescue.
Explain to them your requirements, and they will help you fix your website’s Dwelling Time.
