What is average engagement time in GA4?
Average engagement time is how long your site was open and in view, on average. How GA4 measures it, how it differs from session duration, and where to see it.
Average engagement time per active user is how long, on average, people had your site open and in view (the tab in front, not hidden behind others). It's GA4's replacement for the old "average session duration", and it's more honest, because time in a background tab doesn't count. SimpleDash calls it Avg. time.
How GA4 measures it
GA4 adds up the time each page was in the foreground (user_engagement events) and divides by active users. If someone opens your page, switches to another tab for ten minutes and comes back for one, only the time in view counts.
Per active user vs per session
GA4 has two versions:
- Average engagement time per active user: total engagement ÷ active users. This is what most reports show, and what SimpleDash shows.
- Average engagement time per session: total engagement ÷ sessions. Lower, if people visit more than once.
When comparing with SimpleDash, use the per active user one.
Where to find it
Reports → Engagement → Overview, or the "Average engagement time per active user" column in Pages and screens.
What's a good number?
It depends on the page: a docs page that answers a question in 30 seconds is doing well; a long guide with 20 seconds isn't. Compare your own pages and periods.
In SimpleDash
Avg. time is shown like "1m 23s", compared with the period before, with the help text "How long a visitor spends with your site open and in view, on average."
Related
Sources
- Google: User engagement
Last updated
Engaged sessions
GA4 counts a visit as engaged if it lasts over 10 seconds, has a key event or views 2+ pages. Engagement rate and bounce rate follow from that.
Views
Views in GA4 count every time a page is viewed, including repeat views by the same person. How they differ from users and sessions, and where to find them.