Google Analytics API - Average Session time doesn't fit with Analytics Dashboard

Question

I am using the Google Analytics API and want to know the average session duration of a spezific content site.

To get the metrics I am using this PHP Code:

$result = $analytics->data_ga->get(
            'ga:XXXXXXX',
            '2012-01-01',
            date("Y-m-d"),
            'ga:visits',
            array(
                'filters' => 'ga:pagePath==MY_URL',
                'dimensions' => 'ga:pagePath',
                'metrics' => 'ga:pageviews,ga:sessions,ga:uniquePageviews,ga:avgSessionDuration,ga:bounces',
                'sort' => '-ga:uniquePageviews',
                'max-results' => '25'
            )
        );

I get the following result:

[0] => Array
                (
                    [0] => MY_URL
                    [1] => 8966
                    [2] => 7434
                    [3] => 7434
                    [4] => 17.15496368038741
                    [5] => 6245
                )

Numbers 0-3 and 5 are exactly the same like Google Analytics Dashboard numbers (when I am logged in with my browser in google analytics)

But average duration time on site doesn't fit. API shows me 17.15 seconds and Google Analytics dashboard shows me 1 minute and 23 seconds.

Are these the same metrics? I want to have the "average duration time on site" (like standard Analytics Dashboard shows me).

Thanks!

Answer 1

There is no average duration time on site dimension. There is Avg. Time on Page and Avg. Session Duration. The confusion might be that you are looking at Time on Page in your dashboard, rather then session duration.

You might want to try ga:avgTimeOnPage instead of ga:avgSessionDuration.