As the amount of time that people spend on various digital devices increases, it makes sense that the amount of time spent reading on these devices has also increased. According to one report, the average person in the US spends just over 7 hours per day looking at screens. 

There are various ways to measure how much time a consumer spends on a page, as well as how much of it they view. If a large percentage of your digital users are not reading through to the end of an article, this suggests that your content is not engaging enough for them.

Along with modifying your content to increase engagement, another way to encourage consumers to view and completely read your articles is to provide an estimated reading time. By giving them an idea of their time investment to read your article, they may realize it won’t take as long as anticipated. One study found that simply adding estimated reading times to posts increased engagement rates by 40%.

How do you get an estimated reading time? There are several methods for determining reading times. It can be done manually with a calculation based on the average reading speed of adults (200-250 words per minute) and the number of words in the article. There are also online tools available. Keep in mind that reading times may need to be adjusted based on the complexity of the article’s content and the reading speed of the intended audience. Another option is to insert a reading bar into the article that lets the reader know how much content is left as they scroll down through the article.