How to Set Up a Time Goal For Specific Pages In Google Analytics
Setting up a time goal in Google Analytics is easy, but to find this information for a specific page, it's more complicated
February 16, 2024
Ok, so I admit it, this is a completely geeky and niche blog post. But if you're looking for this specific bit of information, do a little dance because you've found it.
Setting up a time goal for a site in Google Analytics is a pretty easy task, but to find this information for a specific page, it is a little more complicated. The key here is to used advanced segments. Strap on your hats and get ready to go.
After logging into your analytics account, go to Behavior > Site Content > All Pages
Click on the +Add Segment button at the top of the page; it has a dotted border with grey text and will be next to the “All Users” button.
Click on the red + New Segment button at the top of this section.
Enter a name for your new segment in the Segment Name field. We typically use something that describes the page or site section we’re focusing on. The choice is up to you.
Click on Advanced > Conditions in the left hand menu bar.
Under the Filter section, set the fields up to reflect the following. Although instead of “/blog” you may want to have a different path, or an exact page url (don’t include the domain name):
Click the AND button to the right of that first filter. This will add another set of condition fields.
Set the second set of conditions under the “AND” section as in the screenshot below.
NOTE: The number "120" is the number of seconds, meaning we’ve set it to look for people who have been on a /blog/* page longer than 2 minutes. You may want to adjust this to suit your purposes.
Click the Preview button at the top, which will display a graph to the right of how many of your visitors currently fall into these conditions. If the graph shows “0” you may need to massage the conditions a bit.
Click the blue Save button at the top of the section.
Once you return to the dashboard, you should see the number of people who spent the allotted amount of time on the site.
Moving forward, you can simply select your new segment by clicking on the All Users button at the top, select your new segment, and click the Apply button.