Optimized timing

by Olaf Brandt

The better the data quality, the more reliable, sustainable and successful the decisions derived from it.

From time to time, adjustments to the metrics are necessary due to technical changes in the browser. At the turn of the year 2025/2026, this affects timing metrics such as the time spent on the website and per page, as well as the bounce time, i.e. the time spent by users who only access one page during their visit.

The good news is that the changes allow us to measure these metrics even more accurately and reliably. However, this also means that caution is required when comparing metric values before and after optimization. We therefore optimized the measurement methodology at the turn of the year to ensure comparability within the year.

The optimized measurement of dwell time means concretely:

• The time per page and visit is counted down to a single second.
• The time ends when the browser or tab is closed.
• The time only runs when the page is in focus, but not when you switch tabs to the background.
• The time also ends after 30 minutes of inactivity.
• A visit is continued if the page is called up again within 30 minutes or is brought back into active focus by switching tabs. The measurement of time per visit or dwell time per page is continued. If only one page was viewed before the tab focus was lost and another page was viewed after the focus was regained, the visit does not count as a bounce.

For the bounce rate and bounce time, all visits with only one page view are taken into account, regardless of the length of stay or other event interactions. If you want to determine the proportion of visits with only one page view and a dwell time of less than 5 seconds, for example, and without a triggered event, you can create a suitable behavioral segment and select it in the report.

This allows the engagement metrics to be used specifically for optimization. This is essential for landing pages in particular and creates the basis for sustainable digital success.