One of the features that we have been frequently asked for is the ability to specify a second internal page that our clickers will visit on your website after their initial click on your organic Google listing. You asked, and we listened – this feature is now live!
Why did we make this change?
Our service is focused on SEO. Our clickers – all real people with real IP addresses – search Google for your keyword, find your organic listing, and then click on it. This leads to an increase in the click-through rate (CTR) of your organic listing, which Google may consider as a positive ranking signal.
Previously, our clickers would search Google for your keyword, click on your listing, visit your URL, wait for about 60 seconds, and then close the browser tab. They would never click the “Back” button to return to the Google search results, as this could potentially be seen as a negative ranking signal.
However, most analytics programs – including Google Analytics (GA) – would consider this visit as a bounce.
Why?
Because Google Analytics defines a bounce as follows: “A bounce is a one-page session on your site.” Source: Google Analytics
If clickers have only visited one page on your website, our service had the unintended effect of increasing the bounce rate of your website in GA.
Of course, this did not negate the potential SEO benefit of the service – the CTR advantage was still effective, and ultimately Google Search and Google Analytics are two separate entities – but it didn’t look good in the analytics reports.
The good news is that you can now specify a second page for our clickers to visit after their initial click on your website.
Our clickers will stay on the first page for about 60 seconds and then visit the second page for another 60 seconds. This will then be a two-page session and will no longer be considered a bounce by Google Analytics.