Do the search engines kind of test you out at a higher ranking for a short period of time?
-
I ranked very well for my keywords. They are not competitive. Nonetheless, I got convertible traffic to my blog. Suddenly, I run a search for the keywords and there is this other website ranking higher than me. it seems to be a new website. No data on opensiteexplorer. So, the only thing that I can conclude and which I've been thinking that google does is to test new webpages out for a bit higher up on the rankings. If the bounces are lower than average, then I suspect that they will give you better rankings in the future. Is this somewhat how it works?
-
You can be fairly confident any automated method of moving through a website will be quickly discovered by Google. They are a multi-billion dollar company which employs many of the world's best educated and foremost experts on the topic.
Live people have specific patterns and automated methods attempt to mimic those patterns and normally fail in a detectable way. If you want to try your hand at black hat SEO you are welcome to do such, but it is likely a waste of time, money and effort which could be directed towards providing your customers with real value.
-
it would be quite expensive. for that money, shouldn't we just pay for ppc.
-
I'm thinking that is how they can test for quality. Low bounce rate = high quality. I used to be able to compare how my site did with others in my area. Is there still a way to do this through google analytics?
-
So then wouldnt the idea be that when your site gets its boost if lots of people spend along time on your page
it sends google the signal that your page is worth keeping in that position. Could this be yet another opportunity to game the system by having lots of people(paying lots of people to spend time on your site click trough all the links and pages or even worse automate that to give the illusion that your site has great user experience. Could it be that this type of thing will be another trick up an SEO's sleeve sorry for putting bad ideas out there but I have been thinking about this for a while and I want to hear an expert opinion..We "know' that bounce rate effects rankings and google is watching to see how people engage with your site I guess they have methods of detecting unnatural behavior but there are ways of open.mimicking that behavior ie coming from different IPs and randomizing the amount of time spent on a page and the order which a site is browsed in.
Good luck with your page I hope your ranking comes up I am sure it will if you continue to do the right thing!
-
Thanks Ryan. I am learning new things not only from SEOmoz, but also from you too
The best part is that your answers are always explanatory.
-
The closest I could find as a word from Google was a reply from a lvl 14 on the Google forums. Since John Mu is a Google employee and lvl 15, I am guessing lvl 14 is as high as a non-employee can go.
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Webmasters/thread?tid=7f20e3124fd3fa41&hl=en
"New sites get a short period (honeymoon) were they are "boosted" to see how they do and to get some traffic etc."
Also you can take a look at a blog article from Rand where he touched on this topic.
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/googles-sandbox-still-exists-exemplified-by-gradercom
The topic is touched upon a number of times but I was unable to find any official statement from Google or Matt Cutts.
-
Very insightful answer Ryan.
Is there any official word from Google regarding this. ( That they reward new sites for a short period ).
So, you mean to say that after a short period ( what is short period 1 month, 3 months, few weeks ), the sites are pushed down and the initial advantage is lost.
-
Based on what we've seen you DO get a quick boost initially for your new URL.
As for opensiteexplorer, that will take some time...
It's really all touch and go...
best of luck!
-
Do the search engines kind of test you out at a higher ranking for a short period of time?
Yes. New pages will commonly receive an artificial ranking boost for a short period after they are discovered. Google loves new content and rewards it. It makes sense from a freshness perspective and also it adds a little balance in that new pages don't have any backlinks so they are otherwise at a disadvantage.
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
-
Inconsistent Keyword Search Volume & Difficulty Across Tools (e.g., Moz, Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, Semrush)
Hi there, Moz Community! I'm reaching out for some guidance on keyword research discrepancies. I'm currently targeting the keyword "sui gas bill" for my blog, sngplbill, which focuses on information related to Sui gas bills. I've used several keyword research tools, including Moz, Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and Semrush, and each platform provides different search volume and keyword difficulty scores: Moz: No search volume data, Keyword Difficulty (KD) 24
Keyword Research | | Faizali.786
Google Keyword Planner: Search volume 100k-1M, Difficulty (Low)
Semrush: Search volume 90k, KD 31
Ahrefs: KD 1 (Very Easy)
These varying results are causing some confusion. Ideally, I'd like to understand which platform offers the most reliable data for search volume and keyword difficulty. Here are some additional details that might be helpful: My target location: Pakistan My Questions: What factors might contribute to these discrepancies in keyword data across different tools?
Considering my niche (Sui gas bill information in Pakistan), which platform would you recommend for the most accurate search volume and keyword difficulty estimates?
Are there any additional factors to consider beyond search volume and keyword difficulty when selecting keywords for content strategy?
Any insights you can provide would be greatly appreciated!
Capture sui gas bill semrush.PNG Capture moz sui gas bill.PNG Capture gkp sui gas bill.PNG Capture ahref sui gas bill.PNG
Thanks,0 -
Why is my Google search bringing me other keywords than what I typed in?
When searching Condor Voucher on Google US where our business operates the SERP results show results on the first page that do not contain the keyword Voucher at all but instead Condor Coupons and Condor Promo Codes. Is this due to relevance of the other sites(higher search volume keyword), their domain authority, page authority, better authoritative content? Or does Google recognize that voucher is not often used in US and uses more common keywords such as Coupon and Promo Code? Therefore we cant rank for a term with such a low search volume?
Keyword Research | | MyVoucherCodes0 -
Organic search
To get the best organic search results and rankings; should I use as many keywords from analyasis tools. Load all into the keywords tag section of my home page. Or, run Google keyword analysis for ytd 2013 and select only the keywords that had any activity. I understand that for PPC I need to be more selective.
Keyword Research | | STDGreg1 -
Keyword tracking over time
Hi is there a recommended amount of keywords that I should try and optimise for on my site?
Keyword Research | | Hardley1111 -
How do I do SEO for a client who is starting a website that is in a niche with very little to none search traffic?
I am helping a client do On-page optimization and link building. His website is rather like thoughtcatalog.com, where it is a collection of random articles, opinions and anecdotes with no fixed genre. He also has a section devoted to artsy pictures of women. To make things worse, I am in a country (singapore) where the population is small, and the search traffic for his kind of content is minuscule. I have trouble finding out good keywords for him to target and I am considering not undergoing any serious keyword targeting at all (because it will detract from the style of his content). I did a little competitor research, and most of the websites in such a genre do not seem to do any keyword targeting at all! In such a case, how do i continue to help him with SEO? should I abandon keyword research? What should i do to help him earn traffic?
Keyword Research | | Marcus_Wong0 -
Rankings not working
It appears that my search rankings in my SEOMoz profile aren't working - either that or something really bad has happened to my rankings. I left it a few days thinking it was updating but nothing seems to have changed. Can anyone help?
Keyword Research | | rachelbuck0 -
How to find easy keywords to rank for?
We've got fantastic results from a keyword here. After we signed up for SeoMoz, we found that, for luck, this was a very easy keyword (1%) to rank for. How can I find more easy keywords?
Keyword Research | | BrunoReis0 -
Do you get an error in the search numbers when using the keyword difficulty tool?
Do you get an error in the search numbers when using the keyword difficulty tool?
Keyword Research | | jest0