Proof Google is Using Behavioral Data in Rankings

The other day I read a blog post that blew me away. Entitled "Google Bounce Factor Research Data Is In" and written by Visio, it was about the first real experiment that proves Google is using behavioral data in search engine rankings. Now, I've seen a few scattered posts where SEOs mentioned vague thoughts that Google might be tracking user behavior through either the Google Toolbar or Google analytics, but nothing concrete - nothing like this. I've even thought to myself on a few occasions, why would Google give away a tool as powerful as Google Analytics for free? And the answer screamed at me...For data-mining! But still, no proof or concrete evidence.

Let me give you a little background. A few days earlier, Visio had posted his reaction to something he read in Google's Official Blog proving that they use behavioral data in rankings:

"Similarly, with logs, we can improve our search results: if we know that people are clicking on the #1 result we’re doing something right, and if they’re hitting next page or reformulating their query, we’re doing something wrong. The ability of a search company to continue to improve its services is essential, and represents a normal and expected use of such data."

Ok, so they're starting to let the cat out of the bag. But to what extent is this in effect? Well, all (well maybe not all, but a lot) is revealed with Visio and his team's experiment. You will definitely want to read the entire post yourself, but let me summarize.

They did two experiments. The first, completely without the aid of Google Analytics, was to see if the number of clicks on SERP listings affected rankings. They had tested one site that was in a competitive arena with 100 participants and another that was in a non-competitive arena with 65 participants. Over a two week period they were able to alter the rankings of the non-competitive site, but not the competitive one. Their conclusion was that the number of clicks on a particular site from a Google SERP is part of the algorithm, but is only a small factor.

The second experiment was to determine the role of Google Analytics in the rankings. Over the course of several weeks, they had about 100 users click onto a site from the Google SERP and then spend from 30-60 minutes clicking around the site. They did no link building or anything else to it to alter its rankings. After a week or so, the ranking jumped 47 places from 80 to 33. In Google Analytics the bounce rate dropped significantly and the average amount of time spent at the site increased. After they ended the experiment, these numbers, including the rankings went back to their previously positions.

This experiment proved that Google was using the data from Google Analytics to improve the ranking algorithm. This experiment was on a small scale, but it creates a great jumping off point for further research. As far as I know, it's the first experiment of its kind. Hats of to Visio and his team for being so forward-minded to do such an experiment.

[I've given a very quick overview of the project and have not done it justice by any means, so please check it out for yourself to get all the details.]

This is really exciting information. Now we know for a fact that as soon as you plug that code into your web site, Google's computers are pulling in all kinds of valuable data on your website's visitors. At first it might seem sneaky, but honestly I'm glad that Google is using this data. This will actually make the results better for users. 

Google just bought FeedBurner recently as well - imagine what kind of data they can capture from all the feeds of all FeedBurner's subscribers! Obviously a site with 10,000 readers is going to have more authority than one with 100 readers! I would say it's a safe bet that this new data will eventually find its way into the ranking algorithms.

Please feel free to share your thoughts, reactions, etc.