Is this a Google ranking factor?

The length of time between clicking the link to view the web page and clicking the back button to return to the search results is called the dwell time.

On paper, this sounds like an effective indicator of user satisfaction. This seems to be the reason why Google ranks pages higher in SERPs.

But is dwell time a real Google ranking factor?

Let’s look at what the SEO experts say, and then we compare it with Google’s official statement to try to understand the truth.

Disclaimer: Duration of stay is a ranking factor

The term “dwell time” was originally used by Bing, not by Google. 2011 blog post. Bing said this is “the signal we observe”.

Experts claim that dwell time is a Google ranking factor, and longer dwell time has a positive effect on search position.

The residence time is often checked in correlation studies to prove that it is important for SEO. These studies have found that longer stays are positively correlated with higher search rankings.

However, the same can be said for other indicators that have been debunked as Google ranking factors.

When reading any research on ranking factors that Google does not recognize, you should always keep in mind the aphorism that relevance does not equal causation.

Having said that, what is Google’s official position on dwell time and its impact on search rankings?

Evidence: duration of stay as a ranking factor

Google has repeatedly denied that dwell time or any other user interaction indicators are factors that affect search rankings.

Gary Illyes of Google once proposed these theories, and one of the people who made them perpetuated said They are all made up:

“Dwell time, click-through rate, whatever Fischkin’s new theory is, these are usually nonsense. Searching is much simpler than people think.”

Martin Split Debunked this theory Similarly, say that user interaction metrics are not used for searching.

These are just a few recent examples.

Google will quickly reject this theory every time the dwell time is used as a potential ranking factor in the discussion.

In this case, we will not look at any evidence that attempts to prove that dwell time has a direct impact on SEO, because this is all conjecture.

This is not to say that the stay time is not worth considering. It can be a useful way to measure how satisfied users are with the content of your website.

If you optimize for longer dwell time by allowing users to consume more content on your page, this may have a positive but indirect impact on your ranking.

Staying time as a ranking factor: our judgment

Based on all available evidence, we believe that dwell time is not a direct Google ranking factor.

But let’s be clear: Google’s search team is likely to focus on dwell time (or whatever Google might call this metric internally) and other engagement metrics.

Remember, stay time is an indicator. This is more of a check-it’s just a way for Google to measure whether its algorithm provides the best search results.

Think about dwell time, such as click-through rate, bounce rate, and other data points that can be tracked in Google Analytics, Search Console, and other tools. These indicators are indicators of the health of your website, but the indicators themselves have no direct impact on your ranking.

You cannot optimize your stay time. But you can influence your stay time by making your content better, more useful, more valuable, unique, engaging, etc.

In the end, in any case, this is a controversial issue. The only way you will see dwell time data is to work on a search engine.

As Duane Forrester said in his “Search Engine Magazine” article, “What is dwell time and why it is important for SEO,” “Chasing stay time is not a good use of your time. “

Bottom line: How users interact with the page after leaving the search results does not affect Google’s search rankings. Highly skeptical of any research, article or presentation that says dwell time is a ranking factor.

Featured image: Paul Bobita