2026-04-03
Reading session depth without chasing vanity dwell time
A long feature that holds attention for four minutes can still fail if readers abandon before the key disclosure. A short video that finishes in forty seconds may be a stronger editorial win. Time alone does not settle the question.
For text, we prefer scroll quartiles or scroll-to-end rates when the CMS supplies them, plus returning-reader share for the same URL. For audio and video, completion and halfway markers matter more than raw starts.
Content Performance Reviews at Page Springhub always state the format’s intended consumption. Comparing a live blog’s session length to a documentary episode’s completion rate without that context misleads leadership.
When exports lack completion fields, we say so. Inventing proxies that look precise but rest on guesswork helps nobody in the next planning meeting.