What if I told you that, on average, 43% of online news readers bounce from a website after viewing only one page? Or that Americans spend about 6 minutes and 30 seconds shopping online before losing interest?

Are you surprised by these metrics? Or unimpressed?

Whatever your reaction, defining customer engagement on your website is critical to any digital research strategy. Because an engaged user converts and returns, time and time again.

But how can you be sure that your customers are happy? Although your engagement metrics tell a story, they don't paint the full picture. Like most measures of the online world, user engagement metrics vary based on industry. Understanding if your customers are happy or not depends on your competition.

Here's my challenge to you – start benchmarking your engagement metrics. You're probably already familiar with the process, especially if you compare acquisition, traffic, or monetization metrics against your industry standards.

Benchmarking user engagement is a way of looking at your stats side-by-side with your competitors or the industry standard. It's a way for you to contextualize customer happiness, reach your target audience, and set a baseline for performance.

Let's dive in.