For years, Google denied using organic listing clicks as a ranking signal. Now we know the opposite. Recently disclosed documents show that Google actually uses click-related signals in its algorithm.
Here is an overview of these papers with my findings on the impact of search engine optimization.
Organic clicks
In Google’s federal antitrust trial last year, Google Search Vice President Pandu Nayak witnessed the search engine uses a ranking system called “Navboost” (also called “Cola”) that analyzes user interactions on search results (such as clicks, scrolls, scrolls, and swipes) and retains the data for 13 months.
Navboost delivers results based on user interactions with related search results pages. The system also determines whether search results should include other features, such as videos, featured snippets, People Also Ask, and local packs.
The same essay produced an internal Google PDF from 2016 called “user interactions” (ie clicks) as one of the top three ranking factors.
Many in the search engine community have long suspected that Google uses clicks in its ranking algorithm. We also shared that it is very limiting as it only exists for top ranking pages (that generate a lot of clicks). So other ranking signals, such as inbound links and on-page relevance and quality, remain critical for all but the top listings.
Chrome browser clicks
Last month, documents filtered from Google Search’s internal engineering department. The contents revealed the importance of organic clicks in rankings. The documents also describe Google’s tracking of users’ Chrome browser interactions with websites. Google has denied this for years.
So, regardless of the traffic source, Google knows how visitors using Chrome interact with a website.
“Long clicks”
SEO professionals have theorized for years that click data informs content quality. “Dwell time” and “pogo-sticking” are often discussed bounce rate metrics.
Thanks to the engineering leak, we know that Google has this metric, which it calls “long clicks.” The more time users have on a ranking page, the better.
Takeaway SEO
Keep a close eye on the pages with the most traffic. Google has the most data on them. Make sure they are engaging and trigger meaningful interactions. Use heatmaps and other usability tools to understand visitor actions and optimize them accordingly. Focus on meaningful clicks, not just search results. Try to improve clicks on email newsletters and even ads. Google accumulates this data from Chrome. Target your link building campaigns to those that generate clicks. Optimize page titles as they affect clicks on search results pages. Review your top SERPs listings and snippets regularly to improve clicks. Use structured data whenever possible for rich snippets.
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