Javascript to manipulate Google's bounce rate and time on site?

[BenRWoodard]

I was referred to this "awesome" solution to high bounce rates.

It is suppose to "fix" bounce rates and lower them through this simple script.  When the bounce rate goes way down then rankings dramatically increase (interesting study but not my question).

I don't know javascript but simply adding a script to the footer and watch everything fall into place seems a bit iffy to me.

Can someone with experience in JS help me by explaining what this script does?

I think it manipulates the reporting it does to GA but I'm not sure.  It was supposed to be placed in the footer of the page and then sit back and watch the dollars fly in.

[AdamThompson]

Stephen,

Thanks for the explanation - I just had a client ask me about this script. Based on your explanation, this script will change your bounce rate. This is because once the event is triggered, the visit will no longer be considered a bounce, even if the user only visits one page. So it's an artificial/false decrease in bounce rate, not a "fix" as others claim.

I wrote a short blog post on this (and referenced your description)!

~Adam

[BenRWoodard]

Thanks for the encouragement Martin.

As it turns out, with the help of the two previous answers, the script is actually based on a valid script adjustment that might actually help some people in their reports but the what my client thought was that this was an easy/quick way to get more traffic.  The article they found was saying this would dramatically change results in GA and then directly effect their site's ranking in the SERPs.

They had "proof" in the form of some GA screenshots so I needed more information on what the script actually does.  I was able to let my client know what exactly this was and recommend not doing it unless there was a problem in the GA reports that they wanted fixed.

Thanks again for your reply.

[supermarketonline]

Dont do it - just improve your content.  You know it's wrong to try and cheat the system.  Think about what would happen if you banned from the results.

Look i dont mean to be harsh - but i allways balance risks against rewards.   In this situation - the risk is to high.

[BenRWoodard]

Thanks for that link.

The site (link in the previous reply) my client referred me to was manipulating the way they were reporting the results.  The closer I looked at it, I realized that it was a little spike but then it went right back down.  Knowing them they just paid a bunch of people to visit the site.

This stuff is annoying and gives us SEO's a bad name.

[BenRWoodard]

The code was from this site http://millionairevolution.com/cut-bounce-rate-by-80/ and looking at the dates and analytics shown on the page this is nothing more than a misrepresentation of the facts and data.

I knew Google doesn't use data from GA but the data graph was showing a contradiction and I didn't know exactly what the script was doing.

[wattssw]

First, Google Analytics reporting does not, to my knowledge, influence SERP rankings. Altering the data collected through Google Analytics should not affect SEO indicators.

Second, this is from here: http://briancray.com/posts/time-on-site-bounce-rate-get-the-real-numbers-in-google-analytics/

Once this code is installed, your site will update Google Analytics every 10 seconds under the Event Category "Time", the Event Action "Log", and the Event Value will be based on the pattern of 0:10, 0:20, 0:30, 0:40, 0:50, 1:00, 1:10, etc.

The script does not change your bounce rate, it just gives you additional information.

[grasshopper]

You're correct that it's a GA hack.  Avoid it.

Google has publicly stated that they don't use your site-specific GA metrics to influence organic search rankings.  E.g., they're not taking data from your GA profile, and feeding that to the Search Quality team to determine if your site should rank better or worse.  They have MANY better ways to accurately track anonymous user interactions with sites at scale (e.g. Chrome).

The only thing that you'll accomplish with this code is making all of your own internal metrics turn to garbage.  Accurate metrics are important.  If you bounce rate is high, knowing that allows you to take action to improve your site and reduce it.

The more people who stay on your site for more than 1 pageview, the more money your business is likely to make. Improve your bounce rate to improve the profitability of your website, not for some supposed correlation between bounce rate and organic search ranking.