Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Is user engagement a ranking signal?
-
Read something about user engagement might be a signal that Google uses, along with links and on-site optimisation, to decide if a search result goes up or down. What should I believe and what are the developments in this field?
-
Wow, 10 years ago EGOL! Must have been tough taking that approach back then when black-hat methods still worked pretty well. You were always in it for the long term I'm guessing.
-
I bet all of my money on visitor engagement years ago. I don't think anybody believed me then, lots don't believe me now. I have not done any real site promotion for a long time.
-
User engagement is a signal for mobile but not desktop-http://searchengineland.com/google-user-experience-as-a-ranking-signal-is-currently-only-for-mobile-results-not-desktop-results-220719
Even if it isn't now, I could see it be a ranking factor in the future.
-
From my experience I say user engagement does play a role. I have a page on my site that was never really optimized and doesn't have high page authority, but the user engagement is great. I get regular traffic to that page through quality keywords. If only I could get all my pages to perform like that. At the end of the day, I think focusing on engagement in addition to links & on-site optimization is worth the additional effort.
-
Thanks for your clear explanation and suggestions!
-
Hi there
One of the best pieces I have seen on this are from Rand's The Massive Ranking Factor Too Many SEOs are Ignoring Whiteboard Friday. It dives into a few indirect tactics and also helps walk your mind through how you can showcase your efforts.
The best advice I ever got was to experiment with ideas or hypothesis on what you think may move the needle - whether on your site or starting a new one just for the sake of experimenting. The beauty about SEO and digital marketing right now is that no one has it "nailed down". There are so many opportunities that there is no right way of doing anything yet.
I will say that you should always mind your annotations in Google Analytics - that way when you make a change you can see what changes had the most impact over time.
You asked...
"They speak of 'indirect but measurable', but does this signal continues to increase or will it remain as it is. I am anxious whether user engagement as ranking factor is further decisive or not?"
No one knows yet, I can only imagine (again, assuming) that usability and user experience will increase as a ranking factor over time as so many KPIs and quality signals can run through those two items, and there are so many different angles you can look at it.
The best thing you can do right now is provide a stellar user experience, engage your audience, empower your team to be thought leaders, and embrace change as it happens in the digital marketing world.
Hope this helps a bit! Good luck!
-
Hi Alick300,
Thanks for your quick reply. They speak of 'indirect but measurable', but does this signal continues to increase or will it remain as it is. I am anxious whether user ungagement as ranking factor is further decisive or not?
-
Hi,
Google never reveal that but yes it is a ranking signal. I'm quoting from Moz
"Usability and user experience are second order influences on search engine ranking success. They provide an indirect but measurable benefit to a site's external popularity, which the engines can then interpret as a signal of higher quality. This is called the "no one likes to link to a crummy site" phenomenon."
You can read full post here @ https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo/how-usability-experience-and-content-affect-search-engine-rankings
Hope this helps.
Thanks
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Huge ranking flux that we cannot explain
Hello, SEO experts from around the world. We need your help; we have seen massive ranking flux across our website and others. We cannot explain what is causing this ranking flux. The content marketing is top quality, so we don’t know why we are moving from 25 to 50th on Google and sometimes even beyond that. Can any SEO experts explain why our agency is moving so much within Google’s rankings? We don’t know whether to make changes or possibly wait. Any help would be fantastic; thank you all.
Algorithm Updates | | sarahwalsh0 -
About porn sites and ranking
Hello, I'm thinking to extend my website into porn. At the moment there is no pornography on it, although we do talk about sex related topics and products (from dating to tutorials, to toys etc.) Would it be dangerous to keep the porn section on the same domain as the rest? Would this negatively affect my non-porn content as Googlebot would "flag" my website as being pornographic (although only a few pages would be)? Or simply Googlebot would leave the current non-porn pages ranking as they are now, just fine, and plus it would rank the porn pages if they "deserve" to? I hope my question is clear. I don't want to create a subdomain.
Algorithm Updates | | fabx0 -
Does an EAT score on my YMYL site impact my rankings?
I've read some conflicting information on YMYL and EAT. If the Google Quality Raters are out there reviewing YMYL pages and scoring them on EAT, does that site's score have an impact on that page's/site's ranking?
Algorithm Updates | | BFMichael0 -
How can I discover the Google ranking number for a keyword in Brazil?
Hello, how can I discover the Google ranking number for a keyword in Brazil location. I need to know what is the position in Brazil location for the keyword "ligação internacional" in the Google search engine for the webpage www.solaristelecom.com/ligacao-internacional. I tried to use the Moz tools to discover it but only shows that I am not in the top 50, then I want to know where I am, and if I am listed or not. I tried to search it in my browser and didn't show the name of my website. Thank you.
Algorithm Updates | | lmoraes1 -
Sub-domain with spammy content and links: Any impact on main website rankings?
Hi all, One of our sub-domains is forums. Our users will be discussing about our product and many related things. But some of the users in forum are adding a lot of spammy content everyday. I just wonder whether this scenario is ruining our ranking efforts of main website? A sub domain with spammy content really kills the ranking of main website? Thanks
Algorithm Updates | | vtmoz0 -
Safari and IE killing our mobile ranking
My client's website does fairly well on mobile in a Google Search. So one day, my client is in a staff meeting and everyone does on search on their phones. The client’s website is nowhere on the 1st three pages. I get a call asking why. I tell the client that Google has maybe as high as 90% market share on mobile. Of course, their phones have the factory installed Safari and IE. Client says lots of people don’t change the factory settings on mobile . Question: How do we rate higher on lesser search engines?
Algorithm Updates | | jgodwin0 -
Dates appear before home page description in the SERPs- HUGE drop in rankings
We have been on the first page of Google for a number of years for search terms including 'SEO Agency', 'SEO Agency London' etc. A few months ago we made some changes to the design of the home page (added a blog feed), and made changes to the website sitemap. Two days ago (two months after last site changes were made) we dropped subsantially in the SERPs for all home page keywords. Where we are found, a date appears before the description in the SERPs, dating February 2012 (which is when we launched the original website). The site has been through a revamp since then, yet it still shows 2012. This has been followed by a few additional strange things, including the sitelinks that Google is choosing to show (which including author bio pages showing in homepage site links), and googling our brand name no longer brings up sitelinks in the SERPs. The problem only affects the home page. All other pages are performing as standard. When Penguin 4.0 came out we saw a noted improvement in our SERP performance, and our backlinks are good and quality, largely from PR efforts. Of course, I would be interested in additional pairs of eyes on the back links to see if anyone thinks that I have missed anything! We have 3 of our senior SEOs working on trying to figure out what is going on and how to resolve it, but I would be very interested if anyone has any thoughts?
Algorithm Updates | | GoUp3 -
Correlation of Rankings with Personal Pronouns?
Has there been any tests or studies that associate writing in the first person or using "emotional" feeling phrases to higher rankings. More specifically to a blog structure. I'm trying a blog option with a local telecommunications company, however I'm having flashbacks of writing those 5 paragraph essays when taking the SATs. The owner decided he should take on the responsibility and it's like he just can't bring himself to write from a personal perspective. He's a bit stuck in the "professional" mindset and worried about appearing unprofessional. I empathize with his perspective, but I know it's not going to work..or maybe it will? it's just not going to be interesting to readers, but perhaps google will appreciate the fresh content. I don't think letting an employee takeover will be an option as he's very protective of the company's image. So would you ditch the blog? or continue with the dull posts?
Algorithm Updates | | squareplug0