Qualified One: Is it safe to use CTR manipulation?

The autocomplete feature is designed to reduce the typing users must do when searching for something on Google. It’s beneficial for mobile devices without room for typing out full queries. However, it can also be used by businesses and marketers to gain insight into how their target audience thinks and talks about their products and services. Google has emphasized the importance of click-through rate (CTR) as a search ranking factor on multiple occasions. This metric attaches a score to each keyword in your account from 0 to 10. If you want to achieve higher rankings, pay less per click, and have a higher click through rate, you will need to pay close attention to your Quality Score.

Illyes went on to essentially confirm the earlier 2009 disclosure that Google uses clicks in a limited way to feature previously-visited search results higher for individuals through personalization. He also stated that clicks in search results were used for evaluation, such as checking whether algorithm changes or UI changes had impacted the overall usefulness of search results. Or, perhaps the reason was that clicks are used only in certain, limited contexts rather than broadly as an across-the-board ranking factor. It seemed mysterious that Google declined to answer one way or the other, and some interpreted this to mean that they indeed did use clicks as a ranking factor. Of course, one of the biggest reasons people in SEO have come to think CTR is a ranking factor is because it naturally has a high correlation with rankings.

SEO Mad Scientist