Time Spent Goal
What is a Time Spent Goal?
A Time Spent Goal allows you to track conversions based on how long a visitor stays on a page or a group of pages on your website.
Even if the same visitor qualifies multiple times during a session, it is counted as one conversion per visitor, ensuring accurate and non-inflated reporting.
This goal type is ideal when the action you want to measure is based on content engagement rather than interaction.
When are Time Spent Goals Most Effective?
-
You want to measure engagement on blog posts.
-
You want to track how long visitors stay on landing pages.
-
You want to evaluate content performance.
-
You are running an A/B test and want to compare engagement time.
-
You want to identify highly interested users.
-
There is no direct CTA click, but engagement itself matters.
Goals Dashboard Overview
-
Goal Name
Displays the name of each goal, making it easy to identify what action is being tracked. -
Status
Indicates whether the goal is currently running or inactive. -
Visitors
Shows the number of visitors who were eligible for the goal during the selected time period. -
Conversions
Displays how many visitors successfully completed the goal action. -
Average Conversion Time
Represents the average time taken by visitors to complete the goal after landing on the page. -
Created Date
Helps you track when the goal was set up, useful for audits and performance comparisons. -
Sorting and Filters
Allows you to sort goals by name, visitors, conversions, average conversion time, or recently created goals for quicker analysis.
How to Set Up a Time Spent Goal
- In the Track module, click New Goal.
- This opens the goal configuration setup.
Enter a clear and descriptive name for your goal.
Example: Engaged visitors – 30 Seconds.
-
From the list of goal types, select Time Spent.
Click Next to proceed.
- In this step, you define where the time condition should apply.
- PageSense provides an Advanced option that allows you to choose from 8 URL match types to precisely control page targeting.
URL Match Type | When to use | Example | What it tracks |
Simple URL | When tracking a single static page | Only that specific page | |
Exact URL | When the URL must match exactly | Tracks only the exact URL entered | |
URL contains | When tracking multiple related options | Tracks all URLs containing “/product” | |
Starts with | When tracking a section or a folder | Tracks all blog pages | |
Ends with | When tracking pages with a common ending | Tracks any URL ending in ''thank-you'' | |
Matches with | For flexible partial matching | https://zylkerautomation.zohocommerce.com/offer | Tracks URL matching similar patterns |
| Regex | For dynamic or complex URL structures | Tracks product pages with numeric IDs | |
| Page Groups | When tracking a predefined group of URLs | Zylker – Marketing Campaign Pages | Tracks all URLs inside the defined group |
How to Configure
Select the appropriate match type.
-
Enter the corresponding URL value.
-
Add multiple conditions if needed.
Choose carefully to avoid over-tracking or missing valid engagement data.
If the time condition should not apply to certain pages:
-
Use the Pages Not to Track option.
-
Apply exclusion rules using the same URL match types.
-
This prevents unwanted or misleading engagement conversions.
Example: You may want to exclude short utility pages like login or contact pages from time tracking.
Here, you define how long a visitor must stay on the page for it to count as a conversion.
How It Works:
-
Enter the time threshold in seconds.
-
Example: 30 seconds.
-
Once a visitor stays on the defined page for 30 seconds or more, the goal is triggered.
Important Notes:
-
The timer begins when the visitor lands on the defined page.
-
The time is calculated while the page remains active.
-
Each visitor is counted only once.
-
If a visitor leaves before the defined time, it will not count as a conversion.
Best Practices:
-
Avoid setting extremely low durations (like 5–10 seconds).
-
Set realistic engagement thresholds based on content length.
-
For blog articles, 45–90 seconds is common.
-
For landing pages, 30–60 seconds may be ideal.
-
Confirm page targeting rules.
-
Check exclusion rules.
-
Reconfirm the time threshold.
Once everything is correct, click Launch.
PageSense will begin tracking engagement time immediately after activation.
Access your files securely from anywhere
Zoho CRM Training Programs
Learn how to use the best tools for sales force automation and better customer engagement from Zoho's implementation specialists.
Zoho DataPrep Personalized Demo
If you'd like a personalized walk-through of our data preparation tool, please request a demo and we'll be happy to show you how to get the best out of Zoho DataPrep.
- Zoho Workerly Home
- Forums
- Connect With Us:
- Zoho Recruit Home
- Forums
- Connect With Us:
All-in-one knowledge management and training platform for your employees and customers.
Create. Review. Publish.
You are currently viewing the help pages of Qntrl’s earlier version. Click here to view our latest version—Qntrl 3.0's help articles.
Zoho Sheet Resources
Zoho Forms Resources
Zoho Sign Resources
Sign, Paperless!
Zoho TeamInbox Resources
Design. Discuss. Deliver.
Related Articles
Interpreting Goal Reports
Goal Reports in Zoho PageSense provide detailed insights into how visitors interact with your website based on the goals you have configured. Once a goal is launched and starts collecting data, PageSense automatically generates performance reports ...Link Click Goal
What is a Link Click Goal? A Link Click Goal allows you to track when a visitor clicks on a hyperlink (<a> tag) on your website. This goal type is designed specifically to measure navigation behavior - whether users click internal links, external ...Custom Event Goal
What is a Custom Event Goal? A Custom Event Goal allows you to track specific user actions that cannot be measured using standard click-based or time-based tracking. Unlike Element Click or Link Click goals, which track visible interactions, a Custom ...Track Goal
The trackGoal() method is used to record goal conversions for Full Stack A/B Testing experiments in PageSense. It records the conversion events in PageSense only for the users who qualify for the experiment. This API can be invoked with or without ...Track Goal
The Track Goal API is used to record conversion events for a Full Stack A/B test experiment. A goal represents a meaningful action completed by a user, such as a signup, purchase, or feature usage. Goal tracking helps PageSense measure experiment ...