Google Site Engagement Metrics Framework is essential for evaluating user engagement with websites. This framework uses detailed metrics, such as user interactions and engagement scores, to provide insights into browsing behavior. To access the feature in Chrome, visit: chrome://site-engagement/.
Dan Petrovic identified and analyzed these engagement metrics, here's a quick recap of his findings:
Core Concepts in Site Engagement Metrics
Base Metrics Tracked
Chromium tracks site engagement through several key metrics:
- Total Origins Engaged: The number of distinct domains a user has interacted with meaningfully.
- Mean and Median Engagement: The average and median engagement scores across all tracked origins.
- Engagement Score: A per-origin score reflecting user interaction levels, such as clicks, time spent, and other behaviors.
- Engagement Type: Specific actions categorized by type (e.g., notifications, shortcuts, or advanced interactions).
Histograms for Data Collection
Data is recorded using UMA (User Metrics Analysis) histograms, enabling Chromium to log and analyze these engagement metrics for internal or experimental purposes. Examples include:
- Origins Engaged Histogram: Tracks the number of domains with user interaction.
- Mean and Median Engagement Histograms: Focus on understanding overall engagement distribution.
- Engagement Type Histogram: Logs user activity by specific engagement types.
How Metrics Are Recorded
Chromium uses a combination of pre-defined histograms and specialized functions to record and process engagement data.
Recording Total Origins
- RecordTotalOriginsEngaged: Logs the number of unique origins a user has interacted with, using the
kTotalOriginsHistogram.
Tracking Scores
- RecordMeanEngagement and RecordMedianEngagement: Log average and median engagement scores across all domains. These scores help measure overall user engagement with the web.
Engagement by Details
- RecordEngagementScores: Iterates over a list of site engagement details and logs individual scores to the
kEngagementScoreHistogram.
Categorized Engagement
- RecordEngagement: Logs the type of engagement, using an enumeration to distinguish between different types (e.g., notification points or shortcut launches).
