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
-
Medical terms and keyword monthly search ranges
I have a question with regards to the monthly search ranges. I read your information on how the range is calculated but it does not explain the following. Google AU comparison for "hives" and "urticaria". The range give is 11.5-30.3K per month for both terms. This is highly unusual because we know that people use hives more than urticaria when searching for the same disease. Interesting this is the only medical term that behaves like this and want to understand the reason why.
Keyword Research | | niritoli0 -
To switch high-ranking keyword for one with higher volume?
I have a client who already ranks very well for the keyword "odor removal service" (#3 average rank). I'd like to use this as my primary keyword phrase, but the search volume is not very high (avg. monthly search of 90). A similar keyword phrase like "odor eliminator" has a search vol. of 4400 and the same competitiveness. Even its long-tail derivatives like "natural odor eliminator" still have a much higher volume (360) and would be a more accurate description of the service. In cases like this where you are already ranking well for a relevant keyword (but are still not generating much traffic), is it worth losing that keyword ranking in the hopes of ranking better for a keyword with higher volumes. Just to be clear, I'm not referring to a secondary keyword, but to the main keyword phrase around which we'll be building primary and secondary related keywords. Thanks for any feedback.
Keyword Research | | Mike_E0 -
Ranking a homepage for keywords
We recently found a handful of keywords we would like our homepage to rank for (for example - customer experience). On our homepage we have articles (4-5 posted daily) that feature the keywords we are targeting (one being customer experience). How do the keywords we are using in our daily articles that are posted to the homepage affect the overall keyword ranking for the homepage? In other words do the keywords used in the articles (title, first 2-3 paragraphs, meta description, etc.) all roll up/build up to the homepage's keywords or how does that work?
Keyword Research | | carlystemmer0 -
Accuracy of search volume for keyword planner v old keyword tool?
Hi there, I'm (logged into Google Adwords) and researching search volume for keywords but I'm seeing weird results. I know that the term "outage notification" had between 1000 and 5000 monthly global searches when I last looked (I know this because I add a search volume tag to the keywords I track ranking of via Moz). Yet, now when I check global search volume via keyword planner I'm seeing only 70 global searches per month (AND low competition which I know is not true). Is this perhaps because only the exact match is reported or is something else going on? Very frustrated as I have now lost faith in the keyword research process via Google keyword planner....not sure where to go from here!! Thanks very much
Keyword Research | | SnapComms1 -
Organic Search Visits Rapidly Decreasing?
Last week i had over 2000 organic pageviews and this week i have 0 Could this be an error, how could this possibly happen?
Keyword Research | | briananglin0 -
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 -
Keywords and Rank Checker Tool
Two questions about checking the rank of keywords. The easiest way to say this is by example. I have a keyword that SEOMOZ ranks on google in the 32nd position but when I look for that keyword in Google it's nowhere to be found (it's buried deep in the results pages somewhere). Where does SEOMOZ get its keyword results from? How do I non-localize my browser so I can see "global" keyword results? Is there such a thing? thanks in advance.
Keyword Research | | dpdeleon10 -
Ranking Changes: Google.co.uk vs Google.com vs Google.com.au?
Why would my website appear, for example, second for a keyword search on Google.co.uk but on a search through Google.com or Google.com.au (Australia) not appear in the Top 50? Excuse the simplicity of the question!
Keyword Research | | Benj250