avoiding a google smackdown in 1/20 of a second
January 8th, 2008
We know a couple of things. One, visitors on your site decide whether or not it’s worth it in 1/20 of second. Two, we know Google is tracking the clicks that occur from their search engine to your site (and back again).
How does this impact your search rankings?
If someone is going to your site and quickly leaving, it must mean one of two things: 1) Your site sucks, or 2) The content isn’t relevant. And if that’s the case, Google doesn’t want your kind hanging around the top of its search results.
In order to positively affect your rankings, it’s becoming increasingly important to keep users on your site, especially after coming in from Google, for as long as possible, ideally staying on your site as opposed to heading back to Google and choosing a competitor.
My advice in accomplishing this?
Your site metrics will tell you a lot. Be aware of the time users stay on your site after coming in from Google. What is your exit rate? If you find out people coming in via search are quickly leaving by a large percentage, you have a problem. If a large percentage are sticking around in a period that can be measured in minutes vs. seconds, pat yourself on the back (keeping mindful that you can always improve, because that’s just what the competition is doing).
Once you know your situation (positively or negatively) think of ways to keep visitors on your site. Is your site professional-looking enough? If you look like spam or some hack-job, you’re probably losing people quickly. Job sites have an advantage because users are usually willing to search jobs, so make sure your search function is intuitive. Simple is good.
Web 2.0 features can be helpful in keeping eyeballs on your site as well. Utilizing video, audio, blogging and social networking components can go far in creating stickiness. Even kickin’ it old school with freebies such as white papers, guides or career resources are helpful.
It’s a concept that’s been around for awhile, but with Google watching ever-so-closely, giving surfers a reason to hangout on your site for awhile is more important than ever.
January 8th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Thanks Joel. I’ve often wondered why some search strings continually bring people via Google but others don’t last too long. Last month I added Google Analytics to my blog and website. The Analytics are easy to understand and help to determine what’s working and what’s not.