What Is Pogo-Sticking in SEO? Expert Strategies and Tips

Defining Pogo-Sticking

Pogo-sticking successful SEO is erstwhile a personification quickly navigates betwixt webpages and hunt motor results pages (SERPs), only spending a fewer seconds connected nan pages.

For example, nan personification enters a hunt query successful Google and clicks connected a hunt consequence that takes them to your page. But they almost instantly return to nan SERP to click connected a different result.

Pogo-sticking successful SEO matters for respective reasons:

• User acquisition (UX): Pogo-sticking whitethorn bespeak that group aren’t uncovering what they request connected your page
• Content relevance and quality: If group consistently return to nan SERP aft landing connected your page, nan contented whitethorn not meet their expectations
• Ranking: If your page ranks high, but group are pogo-sticking, Google mightiness reevaluate and set its ranking. Pogo-sticking itself isn’t a ranking factor, but immoderate of nan causes could be.

The Difference Between Pogo-Sticking and Bounce Rate

Pogo-sticking is erstwhile a personification bounces backmost to nan SERP from your site.

A bounce is erstwhile a visitant lands connected 1 of your pages and leaves, but doesn't needfully return to nan hunt results.

Bounce rate is nan percent of unengaged sessions connected your site. These are sessions that past less than 10 seconds, don’t person a conversion event, and don’t person astatine slightest 2 pageviews divided by nan full number of sessions.

All pogo sticks are bounces. But not each bounces are pogo sticks.

A precocious bounce complaint whitethorn bespeak an rumor pinch your site’s UX aliases contented quality. However, it tin besides mean visitors recovered what they were looking for and left.

A communal belief successful nan SEO manufacture is that bounce complaint is simply a ranking factor, but Google has many times confirmed that it’s not.

When asked successful a Q&A if bounce complaint is simply a ranking factor, Google Search Advocate John Mueller said it’s “definitely not nan case.” Google Analyst Gary Illyes has besides responded to this question, stating it’s not utilized successful hunt ranking.

Pogo-Sticking and Rankings

Pogo-sticking whitethorn aliases whitethorn not effect your hunt rankings. Because Google prioritizes personification acquisition and satisfaction.

In a Google webmaster hangout, however, John Mueller said pogo-sticking is not a nonstop ranking factor. While pogo-sticking itself whitethorn not origin your rankings to fall, nan causes of pogo-sticking can.

How Pogo-Sticking Affects Your Site

If your tract consistently leads to pogo-sticking, it tin constituent to a bad personification experience, aliases low-quality aliases irrelevant content. Both whitethorn effect your rankings.

When a personification quickly returns to nan hunt results aft visiting your site, it tin wounded your spot and credibility. People whitethorn not comprehend your marque aliases contented arsenic reliable. They whitethorn not return arsenic often, if astatine all.

If your extremity is to person visitors into customers, pogo-sticking tin surely effect engagement and conversion rates.

Analyzing nan Relationship Between User Behavior and SEO

Are you analyzing personification behaviour to set your SEO strategy?

Doing truthful tin thief you find really to prioritize applicable contented and an intuitive personification acquisition for amended rankings and personification satisfaction.

The “Pages and screens” study successful Google Analytics reveals personification behavior. It tin show you which pages get nan astir attention. And make nan astir conversions. And which ones you mightiness want to update.

To find this data, click “Reports” successful nan left-hand navigation. 

Then, click “Engagement” > “Pages and screens” successful nan drop-down menu.

Below nan statement chart, you’ll spot a array of your pages sorted by views successful descending order. To benignant by users, click nan arrow adjacent to “Users,” which appears connected hover.

Notable engagement metrics for these pages include:

• Views per user: Average number of pages viewed per user
• Average engagement time: Average magnitude of clip nan page was successful attraction successful nan user’s browser
• Conversions: Number of times users triggered a conversion event

The mean for each of these metrics is shown beneath nan header. Look for pages pinch below-average Views per personification and Average engagement time. These are pages you whitethorn want to see updating first.

Further reading: Google Analytics for Beginners: Getting Started pinch GA4

Causes of Pogo-Sticking and Strategies to Minimize It

Mismatch Between Content and Search Intent

A mismatch occurs erstwhile a personification visits your page, but your contented doesn’t align pinch their expectations.

Solution: Align your contented with search intent. Analyze nan keyword intent earlier creating content. Your page should straight reside what group are looking for.

Use the Keyword Overview instrumentality to analyse intent.

Enter a keyword, prime a state from nan drop-down, and click “Search.” 

You’ll spot a dashboard pinch metrics for nan keyword. In this example, nan hunt intent is “Informational.” The personification apt wants to find accusation connected really to make java astatine home.

Should you target this keyword? Scroll down to “SERP Analysis.”

These results incorporate recipes aliases instructions. So, if your page includes instructions, you'll apt lucifer nan searcher's intent.

To guarantee your contented satisfies nan user’s needs, analyse nan top-ranking results for your keyword. Then, create amended content.

Poor Readability

Readability is really easy your visitors tin publication and understand nan contented connected your site. 

If your tract is difficult to publication because of mediocre font choices aliases clashing colour elements, for example, group could go disappointment and bounce backmost to nan SERP. 

Solution: Maintain bully readability by utilizing elemental fonts and colors that are easy to read—such arsenic a classical achromatic font connected achromatic background.

Poor Accessibility

Accessibility is astir making your tract easy to usage for each types of users, including group pinch disabilities. 

If personification lands connected your tract and finds that it’s incompatible pinch their surface reader, nan font is excessively small, or, again, nan colour contrasts make nan matter difficult to spot and read, they mightiness leave.

Solution: Ensure your tract adheres to web accessibility guidelines. This tin beryllium done manually aliases pinch a plugin, if your tract is connected a level for illustration WordPress.

Further reading: How to Check Website Accessibility

Gated Content

Gated content—content hidden down a shape aliases paywall—can frustrate group who expect to position it immediately.

Solution: Avoid gating basal information. Visitors should beryllium capable to find what they request without facing a virtual roadblock. Otherwise, users whitethorn pogo-stick to 1 of your competitors.

If you person a valuable plus pinch nan imaginable to make leads—such arsenic the Semrush Content Marketing Starter Kit—consider gating this content.

If you want personification to stock their individual information, your contented must beryllium worthy it. If possible, supply a preview aliases summary earlier asking for people’s information.

Consider gating these contented types while still providing adjuvant overview accusation to thief users understand nan value:

• Free templates aliases tools
• White papers, ebooks, and reports
• Webinars
• Product demos

Slow Loading Times

In a Digital.com survey, 19% of respondents said they’ll time off a webpage that takes longer than 2-3 seconds to load.

In fact, nan probability of group bouncing from your tract jumps from 32% to 90% if your page takes longer than 3 seconds to load.

Solution: Here are a fewer ways to optimize page speed to support visitors connected your site:

• Compress images
• Enable browser caching
• Minify JavaScript, CSS, and HTML
• Reduce HTTP requests
• Use a contented transportation web (CDN)

Analyze your page load times pinch the Site Audit tool.

To group up, click “Start Audit.”

A model will appear. Enter your domain and an optional task sanction (such arsenic your marque name). Then click “Create project.”

Next, configure nan tract audit and click “Start Site Audit.” 

The time it takes to crawl your tract depends connected your site’s size. Plan to springiness it up to 24 hours.

Once completed, you’ll spot a dashboard pinch an overview of your site’s wellness and related reports. 

To cheque your load velocity and capacity issues, click “View details” successful nan “Site Performance” box.

The instrumentality will show a breakdown of load speeds and a database of capacity issues. We urge addressing nan issues nether “Errors” earlier moving connected to “Warnings.”

Overwhelming Number of Ads

Excessive ads tin distract users and forestall them from engaging pinch your content. Dissatisfied aliases irritated users could return to nan SERPs.

Solution: Reduce advertisement intrusiveness:

• Control nan number and placement of ads: Too galore ads tin clutter your site, slow down page loading, and distract users. Optimize really often and wherever they look to equilibrium them pinch content.
• Test and measurement nan effect of ads: Use analytics to measure really ads impact your page's capacity and engagement. Remove ads that harm engagement.
• Use replacement advertisement formats distant from your site: Including paid hunt ads, societal ads, and email ads

Intrusive Ads

Pop-ups disrupt group from consuming your content. They tin annoy visitors and lead to speedy exits.

Solution: Avoid intrusive advertisement formats, specified arsenic pop-ups, interstitial ads, and auto-playing videos.

If pop-ups bring you leads and newsletter subscribers, usage them wisely and sparingly truthful they don't inhibit nan wide personification experience.

Poor Website Design

Cluttered layouts, outdated designs, and unresponsive sites tin frustrate visitors and lead to pogo-sticking. 

People whitethorn not person nan patience to woody pinch mini text, too-small buttons, aliases slow-loading pages.

Solution: Invest successful a modern, SEO-friendly creation that useful good crossed devices.

Google prioritizes mobile-first indexing, assessing sites' mobile versions to pass rankings. Opt for a responsive creation to support mobile visitors satisfied, which adjusts your site's layout based connected instrumentality specifications.

You tin usage Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to measure really good your page will execute connected mobile devices and place issues to fix.

Further reading: SEO Web Design: 10+ Tips to Build a Better Website

Misleading Title Tags and Meta Descriptions

If users click connected your hunt listing but find nan contented irrelevant, your title tag aliases meta explanation could beryllium misleading. 

If group onshore connected nan page and spot nan main heading doesn’t align pinch nan title tag they saw, they whitethorn return to nan SERP to look elsewhere.

Solution: Write accurate meta tags that align pinch your page's contented truthful visitors are met pinch nan contented they expect erstwhile clicking through.

Here’s an illustration of a meta explanation for nan Semrush homepage that aligns pinch nan page's content:

Measuring Pogo-Sticking successful SEO pinch Google Analytics

Unfortunately, you can’t measurement pogo-sticking. You tin spot erstwhile a personification lands connected your tract from nan SERPs. And you tin spot from which page a personification exits your site. But you can't spot wherever nan personification goes erstwhile they time off your site.

But you tin analyse personification behaviour while they're connected your site. And mitigate pogo-sticking by improving personification experience.

To measurement factors related to pogo-sticking successful Google Analytics, way bounce rates, mean engagement time, and exit pages. 

Learning from Success: A Case Study connected Reducing Pogo-Sticking

Brian Dean, laminitis of Backlinko, shared really his team reduced pogo-sticking.

Here are immoderate strategies:

• Understand personification intent: Backlinko created contented that straight addresses personification queries. By aligning contented pinch what users seek, they trim nan chances of pogo-sticking.
• Enhance personification experience: Backlinko placed soul links strategically, particularly supra nan fold. These links guideline users deeper into nan site, reducing nan likelihood of returning to hunt results.
• Font size: Backlinko utilized a readable font size (at slightest 15pt) to guarantee users don’t bounce owed to readability issues
• Reducing bounce rate: Backlinko focused connected minimizing bounce rates. Improved dwell time positively impacts SEO and personification satisfaction.

Minimize Pogo-Sticking successful SEO pinch Semrush

Many factors impact pogo-sticking successful SEO: hunt intent, accessibility, page speed, and more.

By consistently evaluating your site’s capacity and making adjustments to amended personification satisfaction, you tin minimize pogo-sticking.

Semrush gives you a broad position of your site’s cardinal metrics and SEO trends. Track page load speed, apical page views, mean CTR, and more, each successful 1 platform. Try it for free!