New Analytics Metrics in Dashboard: Average Time on Site, Session Duration & Bounce Rate
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We added three metrics to help measure retention across Funnels, Websites, and Webinars. These metrics show how long visitors stay, how long sessions last, and how many sessions end quickly. They reduce guesswork and make it easier for us to act on real user engagement.
Overview of the three metrics
Each metric is calculated from session data and shown as averages, medians, and trends over the selected date range. Together they give a clearer picture of retention and content relevance.
Average Time on Site
Calculated as the total time spent by all users divided by the total number of sessions. This metric shows the average amount of time users spend on your site during the selected date range. It can be displayed daily, weekly, or for a custom range.
Average Session Duration
Calculated as the sum of all session durations divided by the total number of sessions. This gives an overall average session length across the selected date range and helps compare how different periods perform.
Bounce Rate
Calculated as the number of sessions that ended within 30 seconds divided by total sessions, multiplied by 100. A high bounce rate can point to unmet expectations, slow load times, or irrelevant content. Use it to spot pages or funnels that need quick fixes.
Where to find these metrics
These metrics are available for Funnels, Websites, and Webinars in the Sites Analytics. They may not appear for every site product, so check the appropriate section.
Open the Analytics tab inside the Sites section.
Select Funnels, Websites, or Webinars.
Set your desired date range.
Locate and hover over the Average Time on Page view to reveal details.
How to use these metrics to improve retention
Identify strong pages — Look for pages with higher average time on site and longer session durations. These pages keep users engaged and can reveal effective content formats or messaging.
Spot weak engagement — High bounce rate or low session duration flags pages that likely need better headlines, faster load times, or clearer calls to action.
Compare trends — Use medians and trend lines to avoid being misled by outliers. A rising median session duration is a better sign than a single high average caused by a few long visits.
Test fixes — Make targeted changes (headlines, content order, load performance) and measure the metric changes over the next date range to validate improvements.
Best practices
Use both averages and medians to understand typical behavior and extreme cases.
Segment by traffic source to see which channels bring engaged users.
Monitor bounce rate alongside page load times and relevance of content to user intent.
Prioritize changes on pages with high traffic and poor retention metrics.
FAQ
How is Average Time on Site different from Average Session Duration?
Average Time on Site divides the total time spent by all users by sessions to show time per visit across the selected date range. Average Session Duration sums individual session durations and divides by the same session count. They are similar but useful in slightly different analyses; compare both to get a fuller picture.
What does the bounce rate measure here?
The bounce rate is the percentage of sessions that ended within 30 seconds. It highlights short or low-engagement visits, which often stem from mismatched expectations, slow pages, or irrelevant content.
Are these metrics available for all site products?
Not always. They are available for Funnels, Websites, and Webinars. If a product does not show these metrics, it may not support the session-level data required for calculation.
How should we act on a high bounce rate?
First check page load speed and content relevance. Improve headlines, match landing page messaging to the traffic source, and add clear calls to action. Then track changes using the same date range comparison.
Can these metrics replace deeper analytics tools?
They provide quick, actionable retention signals and are ideal for fast iteration. For complex attribution or advanced behavioral funnels, use them alongside other analytics solutions.
Wrapping up
These three metrics make retention easier to measure and act on. Use them to find what keeps users engaged, fix what drives them away, and make decisions based on real session behavior.
This article was created from the video New Analytics Metrics in Dashboard: Average Time on Site, Session Duration & Bounce Rate
