Track engaged visits the right way with the time spent metric

Media companies face significant challenges in accurately measuring audience engagement, particularly with the "time spent" metric, which is commonly miscalculated by first-generation analytics tools like Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics. These tools typically measure the time between pageviews to estimate engagement, often resulting in underreported metrics that can mislead editors into prioritizing clickbait content over more substantive pieces. A more precise method, such as using "page pings" that regularly send beacons while a user remains engaged, can yield better insights into actual time spent with content. Although technological advancements now allow for the collection and processing of more detailed data, many established analytics platforms have not adopted these newer methods due to their origins in the data processing limitations of the 1990s. An example of innovation in this space is The Globe & Mail's proprietary analytics platform, Sophi, which uses Snowplow for data collection and provides real-time feedback and deeper analytical insights to better support editorial decisions.