← DictionaryScroll Depth
How far down a page visitors typically scroll.
How far down people actually got.
What It Is
You will find Scroll Depth in the Measurement layer, alongside the rest of Engagement. What it actually refers to is how far down a page visitors typically scroll.
It is something measured and compared over time, so one reading in isolation tells you almost nothing. Once it is defined that clearly, arguments about it usually stop.
How It's Used
Most of the time Scroll Depth is used in reporting, analytics reviews and the arguments about what the numbers mean. It normally appears alongside Below the Fold, Event Tracking and Heatmap. The practical test is whether it is measured the same way each period, against something.
Why It Matters
Ignoring Scroll Depth rarely fails loudly — it fails slowly. When it is unclear, reporting becomes a matter of opinion. Clarity here removes a surprising amount of downstream argument.
Picture a speedometer. It tells you how fast, not whether you are going the right way. How far down people actually got.
Termshift™
How the meaning shifts depending on who is using it, and where.
Professionally, Scroll Depth carries the narrow meaning: how far down a page visitors typically scroll.
Explained to someone with no marketing background, Scroll Depth is how far down people actually got.
The Bottom Line
If you only keep one thing about Scroll Depth: how far down people actually got. Everything after that is detail.