Does Google observe and factor into their future results pages which of the results they display for a particular keyword actually gets clicked on by the searcher? It would seem like a logical step for them, but I have never heard this mentioned.
YES! google keeps track of a user's search behaviour and returns search result based on previous search pattern. they keep the search history for 18 months (talking about violation of privacy)
I agree it is one of the many smaller factors used just as time on page, hitting the back button, what you do and where you go, page load time, and a whole amalgam of other things are to You should take a good mosey on over look of an Awstats stat page in a cPanel to see just what else is going on and gets logged and that there may be metrics for that could be factored in.
Thank you, oh sultanofseo (love the handle...) That is valuable information about personalization. What I am wondering is if Google uses such data in aggragate to produce optimized pages for all searchers? If a million people click on a listing that was at #7, would Google consider moving it above other listings that were above it but getting fewer clicks?
Thank you Revelations-Decoder. Does Google really have access to how long I spend on a search result once I leave the Google search page? I am surprised. Certainly, Google does not have access to cpanel web stats, do they? I may be confused about what you wrote... JR
If the likes of Awstats can collect the amount of info they do can you imagine what Google are capable of jrbiz? Google imho can probably find most data, It's all software at the end of the day, and that's all the likes of Awstats is "software". Googles targeted ads are all based on user bahaviour, this logically means "they know what you are doing and where you have been and where you are. In all probabilty just the same sort of info you see in your Awstats. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,1000000097,39625962,00.htm Google imho likely know what browser you use, what operating system, what IP and who knows what else is possible to know when you have masses of engineers as they do. Did you hear about the long term deal they did with NASA? They can even track you by yout phone or PC and tell you where you and your friends are if you like > http://www.google.co.uk/latitude/intro.html No doubt a similar system Authorities can use to trace where a call is made from a phone or mobile/cell in their activities. We have all seen the Police TV shows where they are able to get phone records and can tarce what calls we're made how long for and even the location the call was made from. It is real and not just TV made up fiction.