Dwell Time: How to Keep People on Your Site Without Begging
Wait, What Is Dwell Time?
You've done it, clicked on a search result, landed on a site, and either stayed for a few glorious minutes… or bounced immediately because the site looked like it was built in 2008.
That moment you spend on a website before heading back to Google? That's dwell time.
Technically, it's the time between clicking a search result and heading back to the search results page. Longer = better. It's one of those sneaky indicators that tells search engines, "Hey, this content was actually useful."
Why You Should Care (Like, Actually Care)
Because Google's watching. Always. And when it sees that people are leaving your site faster than a free Wi-Fi page at Macca's, it assumes your content isn't worth staying for.
Longer dwell times mean:
Your content matches what people are actually looking for.
People find it engaging, not enraging.
You might actually rank higher in search because Google thinks you're the real deal.
Short dwell times? That's code for: "Meh. Not what I wanted."
How to Keep People Around Without Trapping Them
1. Write Like You're Talking to a Real Person
Answer the damn question they searched for. Right away. Don't waffle. Don't start with your origin story unless that's what they asked for.
Use headings, bullets, and clear structure.
Keep your info up to date (Google notices when your 2019 advice is still sitting there).
2. UX That Doesn't Make People Rage Click
Your website should be easy to use. Not just pretty. Clean layout, clear menus, no 47 popups.
Keep navigation obvious.
Prioritise mobile design, if your mobile UX is trash, your dwell time will be too.
3. Speed. Matters. A Lot.
If your site takes more than 3 seconds to load, you've already lost half your audience.
Compress images.
Minimise JavaScript bloat.
Cache like your bounce rate depends on it (because it does).
4. Make It Sticky (Not Cringey)
Engagement = time on site.
Add interactive elements like polls, quizzes, or tools.
Use internal links to guide users to more useful stuff.
Invite comments and actually respond like a human.
5. Give People a Reason to Stay or Come Back
Offer something they want, free guides, downloads, newsletters that aren't awful.
Lead magnets, but make them useful.
Content that updates regularly, not just a blog graveyard.
Mistakes That Murder Your Dwell Time
Giant popups before the content even loads.
Autoplaying videos with sound (looking at you, 2013).
Thin, vague, or irrelevant content.
Infinite scroll without a clear reason.
Pages that load like molasses.
Want to Get Fancy?
Use heatmaps and session recordings (Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity) to see where users drop off.
A/B test different headlines or layouts.
Embed content like videos or calculators, something they use, not just skim.
Create topic clusters and keep them bingeable.