Average read time is a Turtl metric, adjusted to the Turtl format and its unique reading experience, therefore it is not to be confused with similar-sounding metrics, for example, the "average engagement time" metric in GA4.
This article explains in detail how exactly Turtl defines and calculates Average read time, Average Title page time, and Average Content page time.
Average read time metric can vary in how it's calculated in the context of one Doc or several Docs.
Average read time of a Doc
The following definition applies to the average read time on the Doc analytics dashboard or the "Most read Docs" section on the Team dashboard.
The average time your readers spent reading a Doc; this is the total time all readers spent reading one Doc, divided by the number of readers.
Mathematical calculation
Mathematical calculation
Math.round(readTimeMs / 1000 /readers) || 0;
Math.round = rounds the value to the nearest integer
readTimeMs = titlepageTimeMs + contentpageTimeMs
/1000 = we divide by 1000 to get seconds
/readers = unique readers
|| 0 = if there is no read time, we output 0
This means that if Reader 1 spends 5 minutes reading a Doc and Reader 2 spends 10 minutes reading the (same) Doc, the total read time will be 15 minutes, but the average read time will be 7.5 minutes.
Notes:
Read time begins when a user lands on the Doc and ends the last time a page has been turned. Any time spent from the last turn of the page until the user exits the Doc is not counted towards read time.
This means if a reader spends 1 minute on the last page they're on without flipping that page, that 1 minute doesn't count towards their read time.
If a session times out (which happens after 30 min of inactivity), the next action resets the clock and begins the read time again.
This is counted as a separate session. Meaning if someone who reads is marked inactive by not engaging, then engages again, they'll be counted as two reads from one reader. See also Turtl's definition of a read.
Average read time of all Docs in a Team or Workspace
The following definition applies to Avg. read time on the Team or Workspace dashboard.
The average time your readers spent reading all Docs in a Team or Workspace; this means the total time all readers spent reading all Docs (in a Team or Workspace), divided by the number of readers.
You may see this in seconds [s], milliseconds [ms], or a more human-readable time that varies depending on the amount of time spent.
It's important to take into account that certain readers will have read more than one Doc.
This means that if a reader spends 5 minutes reading Doc 1 and 10 minutes reading Doc 2, the total read time will be 15 minutes. Divided by one (reader), the avg. read time will be 15 min.
Average Title page time
Average Title page time features on the Page performance section of the Turtl Doc dashboard.
The average time a reader spent reading an individual Title page of a Doc.
This is calculated by the total time all readers spent reading a Title page of a Doc, divided by the number of readers.
You may see this in seconds [s], milliseconds [ms], or a more human-readable time that varies depending on the amount of time spent.
Mathematical calculation
Mathematical calculation
Math.round(titlepageTimeMs / 1000 / titlepageReaders) || 0;
Math.round = rounds the value to the nearest integer
titlepageTimeMs = total time spent on a Title page in milliseconds
/1000 = we divide by 1000 to get seconds
Title page readers = unique readers who have interacted with the Title pages
|| 0 = if there is no Title page read time, we output 0
Notes:
If all users land on a Title page and bounce (do not flip to another Title or Content page), the Title page read time will be n/a. This typically happens on the Back cover page, when the users exit the Doc.
Similarly to the read time above, if a reader dwells 1 minute on the last Title page they're on without flipping that page or opening Content pages, that 1 minute doesn't count towards the Title page read time.
Average Content page time
Average Content page time features on the Page performance section of the Turtl Doc dashboard.
The average time each reader spent reading a Content page of a Doc. The total time all your readers spent reading a Content page of your Doc, divided by the number of readers.
You may see this in seconds [s], milliseconds [ms], or a more human-readable time that varies depending on the amount of time spent.
Mathematical calculation
Mathematical calculation
Math.round(contentpageTimeMs / 1000 / contentpageReaders) || 0;
Math.round = rounds the value to the nearest integer
contentpageTimeMs = total time spent on Content pages in milliseconds
/1000 = we divide by 1000 to get seconds
Content page readers = unique readers who have interacted with the Content pages
|| 0 = if there is no Content page read time, we output 0
Notes:
If all users land on the Content page and bounce without turning any page, the Content page read time will be displayed as n/a.
Similarly to the above, if a user lands on the Content page and only flips to other Content pages, but does not go back to the Title page, the read time of the last Content page they were on will not be counted towards Content page read time.