Thoughts on User Behavior Data as a Ranking Signal

[Joe_Stoffel]

Hi Community!

We have been having an ongoing internal discussion on user behavior data as a ranking signal. We found this Moz article discussing the topic and it leaves us asking questions such as:

• What onsite user behavior metrics are being used (if any)?
• How exactly is Google collecting this information - Chrome? Google Analytics (which they have already claimed GA is not used for ranking purposes)?
• With privacy policies in place, how exactly is Google able to utilize this information?

The article discusses Google patents for collecting this information (The Monitoring Engine), Chrome's MetricsService which is "a system in charge of the acquisition and transmission of user log data", as well as the Reasonable Surfer model. Some highlights from the article include:

• "Google has designed and patented a system in charge of collecting and processing of user behaviour data. They call it "the monitoring engine"

• "Google's client behavior data processor can retrieve client-side behavior data associated with a web page. This client-side behavior data can then be used to help formulate a ranking score for the article."

• The monitoring engine can:

• Distinguish whether the user is actually viewing an article, such as a web page, or whether the web page has merely been left active on the client device while the user is away from the client.

• Monitor a plurality of articles associated with one or more applications and create client-side behavior data associated with each article individually.

• Determine client-side behavior data for multiple user articles and ensure that the client-side behavior data associated with an article can be identified with that particular article.

• Transmit the client-side behavior data, together with identifying information that associates the data with a particular article to which it relates, to the data store for storage in a manner that preserves associations between the article and the client behaviors.

• MetricsService: "Chrome's MetricsService is a system in charge of the acquisition and transmission of user log data. Transmitted histograms contain very detailed records of user activities, including opened/closed tabs, fetched URLs, maximized windows, et cetera."
• “Reasonable surfer” is the random surfer's successor. The PageRank dampening factor reflects the original assumption that after each followed link, our imaginary surfer is less likely to click on another random link, resulting in an eventual abandonment of the surfing path. Most search engines today work with a more refined model encompassing a wider variety of influencing factors.
• In addition to perceived importance from on-page signals, a search engine may judge link popularity by observing common user choices. A link on which users click more within a page can carry more weight than the one with less clicks. Google in particular mentions user click behaviour monitoring in the context of balancing out traditional, more manipulative signals (e.g. links).

I do not expect a concrete answer here, I know there is a lot of uncertainty on the topic but I am very interested to hear your thoughts. Thank you!

[Joe_Stoffel]

I appreciate the input!

[EGOL]

I bet the ranch on this a long time ago and told folks about it here.

If your site isn't generating positive visitor behaviors it does not deserve to rank.  Google can collect data on them from browsers, Adsense, SERPs, devices... a very long list of data collecting methods.