Engagement metrics help you understand how visitors interact with your site beyond just loading it. These signals reveal how effectively your content captures attention, encourages interaction, and keep users involved.
What is time to engage?
Time to engage measures how long it takes for a user to interact with a page after clicking a link - specifically the time from navigation to the first meaningful action, like a click, scroll, tap, or keystroke.
How is it measured?
Once a user clicks a link and lands on a new page, the timer starts. It stops as soon as the user takes a qualifying action - such as scrolling, clicking, or typing. This metric captures both page performance (how quickly it becomes usable) and content effectiveness (how quickly it earns attention). The average time is then calculated across all pageviews to reflect overall responsiveness.
Why it matters?
A shorter time to engage usually means the page loads quickly, renders visibly, and gives users a clear reason to act. Longer times often point to performance issues - like slow rendering, heavy scripts, or layout shifts - that delay interaction. They can also reflect unclear design or weak content hierarchy. Monitoring this metric helps you align speed, usability, and engagement, making sure users can act quickly and confidently.