Conversion – Time active.

The time active conversion allows you to trigger a test conversion after a certain number of seconds of user activity.

How do you measure user activity?

Since users could stop looking at the screen or swap tabs/apps. We check for scrolls, mouse movements and screen touches to confirm that a user is ‘active’. So 10 seconds ‘active’ may actually be 10 minutes+ after the user has seen a test.

How to set up a time active conversion.

1. Create a new test. WP Admin > AB Split Test > Add New
2. Configure your test variations as you normally would
3. Choose ‘Time Active’ as the Conversion / Goal
4. Choose the time active required to trigger a conversion.

Why does my time active conversion not work?

1. Make sure you are using the mouse/touching the screen or the timer will pause counting down after 3 seconds of inactivity.
2. The countdown until the test has been loaded on the page.
3. Check your console for JavaScript errors

When to use time active conversions in Split Testing?

1. High bounce rate pages. If you have a web page that is not engaging your users and leading to further page views, you might want to try testing content to see if you can keep the users engaged on your website.
2. Low Traffic Websites. If you only get one or two contact form submissions per week, your tests will take a long time. Optimizing higher in your funnel to increase engagement is a great way to test your site, without having have to get purchase or contact form submission etc.
3. Informational pages. In some (fairly rare) cases, you might just be looking to have your users engaged in your content. Now I’m typing this out I cant think of many cases to justify it. Thanks for reading this far.

What should I set time active to?

Somewhere between 20 and 60 seconds is the usual zone, but depending on your situation it could be more or less.

If you are getting under 5% or over 90% conversions while your test is running, you can change your time active while the test is running without breaking data.

So, how do you decide?

There’s the data approach, and the iterative approach (slower).

Data (recommended)

1. Look at your analytics/user recordings and see how long users are spending yon your site that bounce or are not engaged.
2. Add 5 -10 seconds to that number to create a buffer.

Iterative approach (slower, not recommended)

1. Start at 30 seconds.
2. Wait a few days.
   • If you are getting < 5% conversions, shave 5 seconds off your time active and update your test.
     1. Wait a few days
     2. Rinse and Repeat.
   • If you are getting >90% conversions, add 5 seconds to your time active and update your test.
     1. Wait a few days
     2. Rinse and Repeat.