Difference Between Time Spent per Visit (seconds) and Average Time Spent on Site

[chelseac1649470]

Hello,

Can someone please explain the difference between Time Spent per Visit and Average Time Spent on SIte? I reviewed the Time Spent page on the Analytics Components Guide but felt the definitions were similar and couldn't quite understand the differences. I know one is typically higher than the other.

Time spent per visit (Seconds)

Total seconds spent / (visit-bounces) Represents the average amount of time visitors interact with a specific dimension item during each visit.

Average time spent on site (Seconds)

Represents the total amount of time visitors interact with a specific dimension item, per sequence with a dimension item. It is not just limited to “site” averages as the name suggests. See How Time Spent is Calculated section for more information on sequences. Note: This metric will very likely differ from Time Spent per Visit at a dimension item level due to the differences in the denominator in the calculation.

[fsakjlfdsakljfd · Accepted solution]

Greetings,
If you read further down in the same help doc you will find an explanation of the difference.

How does Average Time Spent on Site differ from Time Spent per Visit ?

The difference is the denominator in the metric: Average Time Spent on Site uses the sequences that include a dimension item. Time Spent per Visit uses the visit count As a result, these metrics may yield similar results at a visit level, but will be different at a hit level.

Lets say you saw the home page three times within a visit.  'Time Spent per Visit' for that given visit would have a denominator of 1, where as 'Average Time Spent' would have a denominator of 3.

[jamesb37349107]

Does the metric 'Average Time on Site' include single page visits?