Welcome, dear community! Today we’re diving into SEO optimization. Getting that pure, top-shelf organic traffic is every affiliate’s dream. And the best way to get it is to take on the role of a webmaster.
But to do that, you need to understand how to optimize your site properly. One of the key factors that determines your ranking in search results is behavioral signals. How do they work, what influences them, and can you manipulate them? Let’s explore all of this in today’s article.
By the way, we’ve already covered the main SEO trends for 2024. Check that out too!
What are behavioral signals?
Behavioral signals reflect how users interact with your website. This includes everything from the time spent on a page to every button they click.
These signals are usually split into two types:
- Internal – show how users behave on your actual website;
- External – show how users interact with your site in search results.
You can’t say one is more important than the other. Success depends on working with both internal and external behavioral signals as a whole.
What actions impact internal and external behavioral signals?
We’ve briefly touched on what affects behavioral signals, but now let’s go deeper.
Starting with external signals, these are shaped by:
- CTR in search results. The higher your click-through rate, the more relevant Google assumes your page is to the user’s query — boosting your rank;
- Return to search. If users bounce back to search after visiting your page, it signals that your content wasn’t satisfying enough — which hurts your rankings;
- Direct visits (e.g. from bookmarks). Search engines view direct traffic as a sign that your site has a loyal audience, increasing its credibility.
Now let’s look at internal behavioral signals:
- Bounce rate. Google considers a visit where the user doesn’t go beyond the landing page as a bounce;
- Depth of view. If the user explores 2–3 pages, it’s a good sign that your site engaged them — especially for content-driven websites;
- Session duration. Even if they visit only one page, time matters. A long session on a single page (like a 3-hour crypto tutorial) shows value and can offset low depth.
These factors — both internal and external — are key to boosting your site’s SEO. But can you fake them? Let’s see.
Can you manipulate behavioral signals?
If you know what to fake — it means it’s possible. The only question is how.
Search engines use sophisticated anti-fraud systems to detect manipulation. If caught, not only will your site not rank — it could end up in a shadowban forever.
So first rule: only use “real” behavioral boosts — no bots or scripts. The basic strategy is:
Pay real people to visit your site, stay for a while, click through to another page, and repeat.
You can find these people on freelance platforms or specialized services that offer organic behavioral boosts.
Another option is farming accounts. These profiles build up cookies, browsing history, etc. You then use scripts to simulate visits from them. This method also works — and gives you more control over the “quality” and relevance of the traffic.
However, this method takes more time — farming accounts alone can take weeks.
And remember: no matter how good your manipulation is, never overdo it. The system may eventually catch on, and your site could be penalized or delisted.
On the other hand, skipping manipulation entirely will make it almost impossible to break into the top SERP rankings — especially for competitive keywords. So you’ll likely need to use some form of boosting.
Conclusion
Behavioral signals are the backbone of SEO — and many believe they’re the most important factor for ranking. And let’s be honest: on a new site with no traffic, behavioral signals won’t just appear. So the only logical step is to boost them manually.
Can you boost behavioral signals? Absolutely. But you must do it carefully. Overdo it, and you risk shadowbans, deindexing, and other SEO nightmares. But with smart, quality boosting, your site can climb up the search results much faster.
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Respectfully yours — Your Geek!