Unintended effects of Stumbleupon?

[Jeremy Morgan]

Here is something to think about with Stumbleupon.

A lot of bloggers use it, myself included. But here is one thing I've noticed: a higher bounce rate on any page that is stumbled.

This could affect your SEO on the long run. How?

Assuming you are using google analytics, and assuming google factors things like visitor time and bounce rate, you could be setting yourself up for trouble. If someone is "stumbling" along, they might be going through 10-15 sites a minute, until something catches your eye. What does that mean for you? It means they only stay on your site for 5-10 seconds. And this is logged in your stats.

Many SEOs theorize (myself included) that google factors in bounce rate and page time into your ranking. If they see a high bounce rate, and see that people only stay on your page for 10 seconds, they make an assumption that your site is bad, irrelevant or dangerous. By stumbling your own pages, you may be inviting this type of traffic, and might suffer a penalty in google.

I haven't done a lot of extensive testing on this, but this is a theory I have, and should be considered. Just something I was thinking about while checking over my stats the other day.

What do you guys think?
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[bgmacaw]

My observation is that bounce rate has nothing to do with search engine placement but a lot to do with Googlenoia.

[internetmarketer99]

bgmacaw is correct - there is nothing anywhere to suggest that bounce rate has anything to do with ranking. And unless you are using Google Analytics, AND agree to let Google have that info, they have no way of knowing what your bounce rate is.

And if that were the case, it would open up the opportunity for a competitor to 'bomb' your SERPS position by having your page clicked on over & over.

Mark

[Jeremy Morgan]

Well, a lot of the top SEOs in the field would disagree, I am unable to post links yet, but SEOmoz did an experiment proving that analytics data, including bounce rate, is indeed used in the main algorithm. It's also included in the TOS when you sign up.

I am not saying it's a huge factor, I doubt it has much impact at all, but I think it should be considered, especially for smaller sites who rely heavily on SU traffic. I have posted this in other forums, and nobody seems to agree with me, but I think it's something to think about for sure.

Most of my top rankings have come from analyzing every small detail, and I end up ranking a lot higher than I should for a lot of different terms. I agree googlenoia is everywhere, but small details add up over time.

[Jeremy Morgan]

Originally Posted by internetmarketer99

And if that were the case, it would open up the opportunity for a competitor to 'bomb' your SERPS position by having your page clicked on over & over.

I think this is a definite possibility, but I doubt it would have any real effect. I don't think bounce rate is anywhere near a "make or break" item when it comes to SERPS. Not to mention if those clicks were coming from the same IP, or group of IPs, Google would catch it, and disregard it anyway.

[bgmacaw]

Originally Posted by Jeremy Morgan

Well, a lot of the top SEOs in the field would disagree

Well, the reason I disagree is that I don't have a membership site I'm trying to sell you so that you can learn my 'SEO secrets' for only $197 a month (only $1997 if you pay for the year in advance!!!).

I do have an eBook though and you can't succeed online without it.

[Jeremy Morgan]

Originally Posted by bgmacaw

Well, the reason I disagree is that I don't have a membership site I'm trying to sell you so that you can learn my 'SEO secrets' for only $197 a month (only $1997 if you pay for the year in advance!!!).

I do have an eBook though and you can't succeed online without it.

I understand your point, but I respect the opinions of Fishkin and his gang quite a bit, and the evidence they've presented is pretty good. Like I said, I don't think it's a huge factor, but I think it's a factor.

[bgmacaw]

You'll find a lot of misinformation, intentional and unintentional, out there. The best thing to do is figure this stuff out for yourself by doing testing with your own sites, especially across a network of 50 or more domains. You will also want to observe and analyze what's going on in highly competitive niches.

But, to get back to the point, bounce rate cannot be accurately tracked due to various user behaviors, such as opening results in multiple tabs, plus the potential for gaming the stat one way or the other using automated tools and proxies. High bounce rate also makes Google money, so keep that in mind as well.

[SurviveUnemployment]

It may be that a high bounce rate hurts a bit, but I have noticed that my Stumbled pages do much better than non-Stumbled ones in the SERPs, probably because the thumbs ups and reviews add incoming links.

Once again, it's all about the quality of your content.

[Jeremy Morgan]

Originally Posted by SurviveUnemployment

It may be that a high bounce rate hurts a bit, but I have noticed that my Stumbled pages do much better than non-Stumbled ones in the SERPs, probably because the thumbs ups and reviews add incoming links.

Once again, it's all about the quality of your content.

I agree, but I'm as guilty as anyone of stumbling through 10-15 sites before I land on one I stay at and read. But yeah, if your page is catchy it isn't bad.

[internetmarketer99]

Originally Posted by Jeremy Morgan

... an experiment proving that analytics data, including bounce rate, is indeed used in the main algorithm. It's also included in the TOS when you sign up. ...

Sorry, but most of the websites in the world do not use GA anyway, so how could that information be part of a ranking algorithm?

Mark

[Jeremy Morgan]

Originally Posted by internetmarketer99

Sorry, but most of the websites in the world do not use GA anyway, so how could that information be part of a ranking algorithm?

Mark

If you aren't using GA, obviously it's not going to be a factor.

Here the link I promised to SeoMoz about this subject --> Link

[internetmarketer99]

Originally Posted by Jeremy Morgan

If you aren't using GA, obviously it's not going to be a factor.

Here the link I promised to SeoMoz about this subject --> Link

Jeremy, my point was that there isn't likely to be ranking factors that can only be applied to an arbitrary subset of web pages.

Mark