Google Likes Highly Engaged Traffic Too!

Earlier today, Jeff from Senjo Marketing asked me a very common question in regard to search ranking fluctuations:

Why is my new post ranked highly one day – and nowhere to be found a few days later?

In his situation, he was referring to the way a newer post will rank very well within days of being posted, then start dropping off deeper into search result pages, and ultimately… off the front page! My answer to him related to just one of the hundreds of elements in the Google Algorithm, which of course, Google will never tell us much about! Do we all remember ePN telling us they want us to engage our visitors BEFORE sending them off our site to eBay to make the buy… guess what, Google pays attention to this too!

Engage your Visitors with Compelling Content – Or Else!

Or else what?…. or else We won’t Send them Anymore!

In a nutshell, the time spent on your site is measured by search engines… yes, Google knows when they send you one of THEIR visitors, and they can track what that visitor does once they land on your site! Sure… they may not be able to do this with everyone, but do you see that shiny Google Toolbar at the top of your web browser? You know.. the one that comes pre-installed in IE, AOL, Netscape, and the same one that just about every webmaster uses to get an “At a Glance” measure of pagerank etc. Well, when you (and billions of others) clicked that I Agree button during your browser setup, you told Google it was OK to track your web browsing and report back to them what you do. As a matter of fact, when you visit the Google search engine itself, even without the toolbar, you have agreed to share your browsing habits with them!

If you read the Google Privacy Policy, you will quickly learn that anytime you visit Google or use ANY of the services they provide, you agree that:

When you visit Google, we send one or more cookies – a small file containing a string of characters – to your computer that uniquely identifies your browser. We use cookies to improve the quality of our service by storing user preferences and tracking user trends, such as how people search.

Do you care to try and guess how many people use Google? Roughly 74% of the web public! So… Google has a pretty good grasp on what people like and don’t like, just by the amount of time they spend on a website, after being referred by Google!

Simple Example of the Way Google May Measure your Site Quality

Alot of programming is built around a simple set of “if” statements! If this happens – do this, or else if that happens, do that. In the sense of how Google could use this to determine the quality of your site… lets run a small exercise:

1 – Visitor goes to Google and searches for “Your Target KeyPhrase”

2 – Google, having spidered your content and finding it VERY relevant to that target phrase… decides to give your page the credit it deserves, and lists it in the top spot for the phrase! Woohoo!

3 – The user clicks your link in Google, the Google cookie is set… and the tracking begins!

Google Cookie sits there watching now…

< if visitor does not immediately click back to Google serp’s then +1 search point! else -1 search point>
< if visitor clicks an offsite link to another domain within xx seconds then -1 search point here, and start tracking new site! else keep tracking here>
< if visitor stays on this exact page for more than xx seconds then +1 search point!>
< if visitor clicks an onsite link to another page on the same site then +1 search point!>

Obviously, this situation of if-then-or else calculations can go on and on for many different factors…

Positive Search Points

Visitor stays on site and reads the page!
Visitor clicks around your site to related topics!
Visitor interacts and leaves comments!
Visitor Bookmarks page!
Visitor uses your search box!
Visitor stays onsite for +1 minute!
many other factors…

Negative Search Points

Visitor immediately clicks the back button and returns to Google serps!
Visitor clicks offsite immediately!
Visitor closes browser within xx number of seconds!
Visitor has no interaction with your content at all!
many other factors…

Google Tabulates the Results

In the end – Google has shown your page to a number of people and recorded their thoughts on it, without ever really asking for it! Their ACTIONS tell Google quite a bit about your site quality, and they can use this help determine if their users were able to benefit from your site!

Lets assume 500 people came to the link Google gave them…

250 immediately closed their browser or clicked the back button
(-250 points, for non-relevant results… the people had to find another resource)

210 immediately clicked a link out to your affiliate offer within 15 seconds. This may be good for you in the short term, but…
(-210 points, for no interaction… Google might think they need to show the affiliated site page instead)

20 People clicked to a second page
(+1 point each, or 20 total for keeping their attention!)

20 others, clicked to 4 pages of your site
(+3 points each, or 60 points total, for engaging your traffic with quality content!)

The results: -380 Points!

Obviously, I have shown this example in a very simple equation that only measures 3-4 factors, but Google measures HUNDREDS of factors just like this when they determine how a good a site is to its visitors! My most popular sites are all in the 3-6 pages per visit range, this site, is at 11 pages per visitor!

Where do yours stack up?

Previously Published Articles You May Like to Read:

• Tips for Sending Engaged Traffic to eBay
• eBay Partner Network wants Quality Traffic, Not Random Visits!
• eBay Affiliate Program Doesn’t want your Lame Traffic!
• 6 Simple Ways to Drive More Organic Search Traffic
• Write Better Page Titles to Increase Web Site Traffic
• Building REAL Traffic for Your Niche Site
• Google Chrome – Search Engine Launches its Own Web Browser

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