Does click-through rate affect your search engine positions?

[crankydave]

Originally Posted by espmartin

Sorry, yes I missed your uses somehow, or selectively forgot them. Must have been the
cold coffee I was drinking (not an iced coffee, but just got cold )


So your take has it that Google uses all the "user data" they take in (clicks and false clicks)
to negatively impact a site's "standing" with them? Maybe negatively is the wrong
description here...

But if "good" click-through data is found for a site (tons of traffic via successful
click-throughs from landing pages to sales pages - all originating from a Google search
page, for example), why wouldn't Big Google use that in an "increase a ranking" algorithm
for that site?

LOL! Cold coffee...blech!

I'm not automatically assuming one or the other.

Tell me if you think something like is plausible...

Hypothetically folks...

Google uses click through data to help them determine if the results they are delivering are being found "relevant enough" by the end user. They see a particular page being delivered for a particular query that's getting decent click throughs and low bounce rates. They say "Hey... looks like we got this page right for this query. No need to change anything." They see another particular page being delivered for the same particular query that's getting decent click throughs but a very high bounce rate. They say "Hey... looks like this page isn't being found as "relevant enough" for this particular query. Perhaps we should "dampen" it for this particular query".

I guess it's a matter of whether or not you believe that click through data *could* used to "weed out" sites pages that may not be "relevant enough" for particular queries.

Click through data from a Google search page would be query based. A set of results based upon the user query. If I'm Google, I have to believe that I'm delivering (for the most part) relevant sets of results. How do I make those results the "most relevant" they can be?

By rewarding sites that are already being found relevant or by "dampening" or "removing" the ones that are not for a particular query?

Dave

[espmartin]

Originally Posted by crankydave

...How do I make those results the "most relevant" they can be?

By rewarding sites that are already being found relevant or by "dampening" or "removing" the ones that are not for a particular query?
Dave

I see where you're coming from Cranky...by adversely affecting one, you inadvertently
affect the other positively - so "one algorithm does twice the job" ?

[crankydave]

Originally Posted by espmartin

I see where you're coming from Cranky...by adversely affecting one, you inadvertently
affect the other positively - so "one algorithm does twice the job" ?

Yep.

Just seems to make sense to me, that if I'm Google and I want to make my entire data set for a particular query more relevant, "removing" or "dampening" pages when user behavior seems to indicate a page is not relevant enough for a particular query is a real good way to do it.

Dave

[espmartin]

Originally Posted by crankydave

Yep.

Just seems to make sense to me, that if I'm Google and I want to make my entire data set for a particular query more relevant, "removing" or "dampening" pages when user behavior seems to indicate a page is not relevant enough for a particular query is a real good way to do it.

Dave

This seems to make the most sense to me, and it does give evidence for a YES, to the
thread topic question: Does click-through rate affect your search engine positions?

In that through:

by adversely affecting one, you inadvertently
affect the other positively - so "one algorithm does twice the job"

What is the consensus for all?

[Duncan Pollock]

Well, if mjtaylor is right -- and I'm quite willing to agree that she is -- then I'm inclined to think that the number of click-throughs that an organic listing (as opposed to an AdWord) receives will help determine its SERP position.
Undoubtedly, it isn't the only factor that Google takes into account, but I'm sure it plays some part in the site's web position. It isn't going to make a huge difference, but it's surely going to do more good than harm. There must, however, be "the right content" first of all. Without this, the site isn't as likely to turn up in the Top Ten/Twenty/Whatever for any click-throughs to be generated.

Duncan