The world of search engine optimization (SEO) is intensely competitive, with websites locked in a ferocious battle to outrank each other on the SERP page. Since the stakes are pretty high, it is very obvious that some websites will choose to play this game unfairly, latching on to every unethical method that they possibly could. In the world of SEO, these unethical methods are referred to as black hat techniques.
CTR manipulation ranks pretty high in the long list of black hat techniques, which explains its popularity and its sheer impact on the search results.
Our latest blog post seeks to comprehensively break down this popular black hat technique.
What is CTR manipulation?
CTR manipulation is a highly manipulative practice that aims to artificially inflate the number of clicks on a specific URL appearing in Google’s SERP with the ultimate aim of boosting its ranking.
In order to bring the best possible search results for its users, Google uses scores of ranking signals. These ranking signals ultimately determine which webpages will rank higher and which ones will rank lower on the SERP.
To make matters interesting, Google apparently gives a lot of importance to CTR as a ranking signal, making it one of the heavy-weigh ranking signals. So, when someone successfully manipulates the CTR of a specific URL, it ends up sending a positive signal to Google that the specific URL or web page is more popular as well as more relevant than other competitors.
Google, in all probability, may take note of this positive signal and eventually propel the ranking of that particular web page in its SERP. Ultimately, opening the floodgate for organic traffic, lead generation, and monetization opportunities.
Let’s simplify this with a simple example. Kindly note the below example depicts a hypothetical scenario.
Website Mysiteauditor.com ranks pretty low in the SERP for the keyword ‘SEO jokes.’ Its ranking is almost 9th on the 1st page. Due to its 9th position, it is losing a sizeable amount of traffic for this keyword. Therefore, this website apparently decides to opt for the black hat technique of inflating the CTR of its URLs across different keywords.
As a result, Mysiteauditor’s web pages get higher clicks across different keywords during the foreseeable week. The number of clicks is way higher than the competitors ranking above it. This ultimately sends a signal to Google that Mysiteauditor’s web pages are more relevant and popular among the readers.
Subsequently, all its web pages start enjoying far higher rankings in the coming weeks, with its webpage now ranking on the second position for the keyword ‘SEO jokes.’
This was possible, all thanks to the CTR manipulation.
Below is an important disclaimer
Google has never officially confirmed that CTR is an important ranking signal. As such, Google always keeps its ranking signals highly secretive. This means that all the ranking signals that are discussed in the SEO world are speculative in nature. Nonetheless, most SEO experts still strongly believe that CTR has a big role to play in determining the SERP ranking.
Understanding the concept of CTR
We presume that most of the readers might be know what CTR is. However, for the sake of bringing more clarity to this blog post, here we will be breaking down its basic meaning and definition.
CTR stands for click-through-rate. It is basically a popular metric that measures the percentage of clicks a URL or link receives as against the total views it has received. There is a universal formula to calculate the precise percentage, and the formula is as follows:
Click through rate = Total clicks/ Total impression X 100.
(Total clicks divided by total impression multiplied by 100).
Let’s try understanding this formula with the help of an example:
Let’s suppose your webpage has appeared 1,000 times on the SERP (total 1,000 views) but received only 300 clicks during last 30 days.
To arrive at the final click through rate percentage, we’ll break this down based on the above discussed formula.
The click-through-rate in this case is 30%.
Two important points that needs to be highlighted and clearly emphasized. Firstly, click-through-rate is always denoted in percentage. Secondly, total clicks are always lower as compared to the total number of views (also known as impression). Clicks can never be higher than the views or impressions.
For better understanding, kindly check out the below graph taken from Google search console. The graph shows website’s traffic during the last three months.
From the above graph, it is pretty clear that number of clicks are way lower than the impressions or views. Total clicks are only 475 while total impression is 6.75 K. The average CTR is 7%.
Why is manipulating CTR so risky?
We’d already mentioned that manipulating click-through-rate is a black hat technique. This means that implementing this controversial practice will result in clear violation of Google guidelines. Therefore, the risk, by all means, is pretty high.
Mentioned below are the risks that this practice can entail for your or your client’s website.
Penalty: The biggest and obvious risk is that your website could face is algorithm penalty. Your website ranking will be demoted straight away. The severity of penalty will depend on many factors but there is no arguing over the fact that your website will lose a major chunk of traffic.
In the below graph, you can clearly see the massive drop in website’s traffic after hit by a penalty.
Loss of trust and integrity: Your website will be not only penalized but it will also lose the trust and faith that Google had entrusted on your website until now. And once the sacred trust is broken, it will take gigantic effort on your part to regain the trust and rebuild the traffic all over again.
If you’re running a Seo agency then it could cause irrecoverable damage to your agency’s reputation. Probably, no client will ever approach you for work in the future, leading to closure of your agency.
Financial loss: Manipulating click-through-rate requires sizeable investment, from subscribing a software, deploying a dedicated team to hiring someone who is expert in doing this kind of unethical job. Others might choose to outsource it to a third-party agency. The worse part is once penalized, there is absolutely no question of recovering the cost. You’ll have to write off your investment, putting considerable strain on your budget.
How CTR is manipulated?
So, how is this black hat technique carried out? There is not one but several ways to achieve it and the same has been discussed below. Kindly note that our entire intention is only to provide information with no intentions whatsoever to encourage our readers to use these unethical techniques.
Using Software bots: There are scores of malicious software available in the market that is exactly programmed to do this very activity. These software sends army of bots across internet to click on the targeted URLs. These bots are routed through different IP addresses and are known for mimicking human behavior in order to trick Google and other search engines.
Hiring a Dedicated Team: In this case, you don’t subscribe a software. Rather you hire a dedicated team that carries out CTR manipulation in real time. Hiring a team isn’t all that difficult, with people happily offering such services on Fiverr and other freelancing platforms.
We ourselves came across many posts on Fiverr that claimed to offer click-through-rate manipulation services.
Kindly check out the screenshot below taken from Fiverr webssite:
These people are given specific instructions, like searching for specific keywords, clicking on a particular URL and staying on the website for few minutes.
One of the benefits of this tactic is that clicks are done by humans and not software bots. But since these clicks are not backed by a strong search intent, there is no guarantee of assured success.
Using clickbait titles: This practice refers to using headlines that is designed to attract or entice clicks by using sensational and exaggerated headlines that appear on Google’s SERP. Since Clickbait titles are very easy to implement, it is one of the most abused practices. However, this tactic often proves counterproductive, if the concerned website does not offer high-quality content to complement or backup its title, leading to higher bounce rat.
Can you get away without getting penalized?
While the risk of your website getting penalized is pretty high, some might still be tempted to think of ways that can bypass Google’s detection system. In other words, these people want to outsmart Google, which is apparently the world’s most powerful search engine. So, what are the realistic chances?
Frankly, the chances of your website getting caught with its pant down are pretty high, irrespective of how cunningly and shrewdly you might have implemented the strategy.
There is no dearth of people who openly claim of gaming Google’s detection system for years. Such people can be easily found on social media platforms, especially X (previously known as Twitter). But for how long they can manage to con Google is entirely a different question all together.
It is also important to note that today Google’s algorithm is far more powerful and sophisticated. This is not to say that people notorious for implementing black hat techniques have totally vanished but their job has only become more difficult.
So, to answer your question whether you can get away without getting penalized. The probable answer is ‘no.’
Conclusion
Manipulating click-through-rate is an easy shortcut that promises abundance of organic traffic. But remember that most shortcuts come with pitfalls and the risk of falling into these pitfalls is always higher. Your website will lose all the traffic that it has painstakingly built over the years. It is like a double whammy. Not only your website would fail to increase the traffic but it will lose even the existing traffic.
SEO is and will always be a long-game where your website’s trustworthiness is weighed against white hat techniques like high quality content and relevant backlinks. Generally in life, there are no shortcuts to success and SEO is no exception.
CTR manipulation is mostly opted by people who are completely devoid of long-term success and vision.