
How Ignoring Inactive Time Skews Analytics Data - _kush
https://medium.com/bouncelytics-blog/how-ignoring-inactive-time-is-skewing-your-analytics-data-df7a4d12cf21#.xocss2jzj
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siddharthdeswal
Interesting post. So how does this help someone make more money off their
media/publishing website? What actionable insights can someone draw from
inactive time?

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parenthephobia
You can tell the difference between people who look at your page for 10
seconds after opening it 10 minutes ago, and people who actually look at your
page for 10 minutes.

If you aren't fooled into thinking that particular people like your page when
they don't, you can better know which demographics your pages appeal to, and
which pages attract long stays generally.

You can make more informed decisions about who to advertise to and who isn't
interested, which pages to invest time and money in making better, and which
are fine already.

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siddharthdeswal
But by the author's own admission, aren't people keeping the tab open so that
they can come back to it later?

And is someone who consumes your content in 3 minutes more relevant/valuable
than someone who is inactive on the page for 1 hour, but still spends 3 or 4
minutes of active time?

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derefr
3mins vs. 1hr+3mins isn't the distinction. It's 3mins vs. 1hr+10seconds.
You're trying to identify the users who weren't engaged at all but _seem_
engaged due to the extra inactive time.

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Kyotoku
Is there a reason why javascript can't track if the page is on the front or in
the back?

~~~
asher_
It can.

[https://developer.mozilla.org/en-
US/docs/Web/API/Page_Visibi...](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-
US/docs/Web/API/Page_Visibility_API)

