Dwell Time

Dwell time is the amount of time a user spends on a webpage after clicking a search engine result before returning to the SERP. While Google is notoriously secretive about its exact ranking signals, independent correlation studies show a clear relationship between high rankings and longer dwell times. Top-ranking pages (#1 positions) consistently command higher average dwell times than pages ranking lower on page one. Dwell time is the ultimate metric of search intent satisfaction. If users click your link and immediately hit the back button, Google demotes you. Content formatting, UX, and copywriting must be engineered specifically to maximize dwell time and signal absolute relevance to the algorithm.

Dwell Time Simplified

Dwell time is how long someone stays on your website after clicking your link in Google. If they stay for a long time, Google knows your page was helpful. If they leave immediately, Google assumes your page was bad and drops your ranking.