The Importance of Pogo Sticking in SEO
In this blog we are going to decode what is pogo sticking, why it happens, how it can impact your website SEO and how to avoid pogo sticking.
In fact this approach has helped me rank my website higher in the search engine and I witnessed a drop in bounce rate as well.
So let’s start without wasting much time.
Pogo sticking is a term used in search engine optimization (SEO) to refer to the practice of a user quickly bouncing back and forth between different search results, without clicking on any of them or spending much time on any particular website.
This behavior is often seen as a sign that the user is not finding the information they are looking for, and that the search results are not relevant or useful to them.
Let’s understand Pogo Sticking with an example
Let’s take an example, you searched for “bespoke marketing agency in Bhubaneswar” with a need to find some good marketing agencies in Bhubaneswar.
You visited the first result, and felt it’s not the one, so you bounce back with an aim to visit the 2nd result.
The second result wasn’t very promising as well, you opt to check out the 3rd result on SERP.
You continue jumping from one search result to another for the most relevant answer to your requirement.
This user phenomenon on search engine result pages is called pogo sticking.
Why Pogo Sticking Happens?
There are several reasons why a user might pogo stick on a search engine, meaning that they juggle between the search results without spending much time on any.
Some common reasons for pogo sticking include:
1. The search results are not relevant to the user’s query:
If the search results do not match the user’s expectations or needs, they are likely to quickly move on to other search results in the hope of finding the relevant information.
2. The search results are not useful or engaging:
Even if the search results are relevant to the user’s query, they might not be engaging or informative enough to keep the user’s attention. In this case, the user is likely to move on to other search results that they find more interesting or informative.
3. The search results are not trustworthy or credible:
If the user does not trust the websites listed in the search results, or if they are unsure about their credibility or reliability, they are likely to quickly move on to other search results.
4. The user is not sure what they are looking for:
Sometimes, users might not have a clear idea of what they are looking for, and they might pogo stick between different search results as they try to refine their query and find the information they need.
5. Clickbait content in the Meta Tags:
Clickbait is often criticized for being manipulative and misleading, as it often promises more than it delivers and can lead users to click on links that do not provide the information or value that they were expecting. Which in turn the website’s bounce rate increases and engagement drops radically.
These are the forefront reasons for pogo sticking in SEO. The list is not limited to these, but to make you understand the basic reasons.
Pogo sticking can have a negative impact on a website’s SEO because it can reduce the amount of time that users spend on the site and decrease the number of pages they view. This can reduce the website’s visibility and search engine rankings, as well as its credibility and authority in the eyes of search engines.
Overall, pogo sticking can be a sign that the search results are not meeting the user’s expectations or needs, and that the websites listed in the search results are not providing the information or value that the user is looking for. Hence hampers the website’s overall SEO, authenticity, branding value.
Pogo Sticking Should Be Avoided, But How?
Pogo sticking can be a negative experience for users and can have a negative impact on a website’s search engine optimization (SEO), so it is important to try to avoid or minimize it.
Here are some steps that websites can take to improve or avoid pogo sticking:
1. Conduct keyword research
By conducting a comprehensive keyword research, websites can identify the terms and phrases that users are searching for and use them to optimize their content to give value to the user’s need and improve their visibility in search results.
This can help ensure that the search results are relevant to the user’s query and that the user is more likely to find what they are looking for.
2. Optimize page titles and meta descriptions
Page titles and meta descriptions are the text that appears in search results and are used by search engines to determine the relevance and quality of a website.
By optimizing these elements, websites can improve their visibility and make it more likely that users will click on their search result. And most importantly avoid clickbait content in here or else you will end up in pogo sticking.
3. Provide high-quality, unique, and valuable content
The content on a website should be engaging, informative, and useful to the user. By providing high-quality content that addresses the user’s needs and queries, websites can improve their credibility and authority and make it more likely that users will stay on their site and engage with their content.
4. Use Internal Linking and Navigation
Internal linking and navigation can help users move easily between different pages on a website and find the information they are looking for. By providing clear and intuitive navigation, websites can reduce the likelihood of pogo sticking and improve the user experience.
5. Work on User Experience
Not only the above optimization, but make sure the webpage is adored by the user. Do the required UX research and provide information the way the user likes in order to avoid pogo sticking. User experience is also an important ranking factor which could help your website rank higher.
Overall, by following these steps, websites can improve the relevance and quality of their search results and make it more likely that users will find what they are looking for, reducing the likelihood of pogo sticking.
Difference Between Pogo Sticking and Bounce Rates
Many presume that the pogo sticking is the same as bounce rate and pogo sticking is just another fancy way to present bounce rate.
In fact it’s not, trust me, pogo sticking and bounce rate are related but distinct concepts in search engine optimization (SEO). See how these two are distinct:
Pogo sticking refers to the behavior of a user quickly bouncing back and forth between different search results without clicking on any of them or spending much time on any particular website. This behavior is often seen as a sign that the user is not finding the information they are looking for, and that the search results are not relevant or useful to them.
Bounce rate, on the other hand, refers to the percentage of users who leave a website after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate can indicate that the website is not providing the information or value that the user is looking for, and that they are quickly moving on to other websites.
While pogo sticking and bounce rate are related, they are not the same thing. Pogo sticking refers to the behavior of users on search engines, while bounce rate refers to the behavior of users on a specific website. Additionally, pogo sticking is often seen as a negative behavior, indicating that the search results are not meeting the user’s expectations or needs, while bounce rate can be affected by a variety of factors, including the relevance and quality of the website’s content, as well as the user’s search intent and goals.
Search engines use a variety of signals and algorithms to determine the relevance and quality of a website and its content, and pogo sticking is one of the factors that they consider. Bing search engine has already considered pogo sticking as a ranking factor whereas Google neither confirms or denies considering pogo sticking as a ranking factor, but as per industry experts pogo sticking is another ranking signal for Google.
When a search engine sees pogo sticking, it can interpret this as a negative signal, indicating that the search results are not meeting the user’s expectations or needs. This can lead to a decrease in the website’s visibility and rankings in search results, as well as its credibility and authority in the eyes of the search engine.
That’s what you can take from this blog on pogo sticking, and we believe the facts are clarified as simply as possible to make everyone somehow related to SEO can understand pogo sticking in a better way possible. Still have doubts, Mark My Words is listening. Get in touch with us and we will help you with the right solution.
