Pogo-Sticking in SEO: Should You Worry About It?

Pogo-sticking is a phenomenon that occurs when visitors return to your site multiple times in a period. It's a form of bounce rate, but it's not the same as it.

But is it true that Google penalizes pogo-sticking? And should you be worried? In this post, you'll discover everything about:

• The difference between pogo-sticking and bounce rate
• Causes of pogo-sticking
• Is pogo-sticking a ranking factor?
• Should you fear pogo-sticking?
• How to create engaging content
• Pogo-sticking vs. bounce rate

First, let's clarify and draw a distinct line between pogo-sticking and bounce rate since people often confuse them:

As defined in the introduction, Pogo-sticking occurs when a user enters a site after an organic search, i.e., from the search engine results page (SERP), and leaves quickly to return to the SERP.

The bounce rate occurs when a user accesses a site from any source and takes no action on it (e.g., clicking a link, filling out a form, or adding an item to the cart). In short, it's a bounce if someone opens this post, reads it in total and does nothing else before leaving.

What causes pogo-sticking? Many possible causes generate pogo-sticking. Remember that not all are due to poor content or UX (user experience).

Clickbait content In this scenario, a person accesses a site that promises too much and delivers poor results. In other words, it's clickbait content.

We've all dealt with this type of content online, and we've all regretted it immediately after clicking on it: "You'll never believe (…)," "Do this thing for 6 weeks and (…)," "They don't want you to know (…)," and so on. When this happens, we feel deceived and return to search results.

To illustrate this point, let's say you want to check what the Internet says about the common opinion that SEO is dead. You come across something like this:

The article suggests that we learn about the "new SEO."

So according to this article, SEO seems to be dead. It sounds like a big deal. And instead of a 10-step lesson on the "old SEO," this site offers a 5-step study on the "new SEO." But to your surprise, as you go along, you discover that the "old SEO" isn't really dead.

This is clickbait: the feeling it leaves you with is to get out of there as soon as possible and never return.

Buried or Blocked Information In other words, the user can't find what they're looking for, even though the information may actually be present. The problem is that the data is buried under tons of text, obscured by confusing language, or unavailable to some users.

So, is pogo-sticking a ranking factor? There’s no direct evidence that Google penalizes websites for high pogo-sticking rates. However, if users keep jumping from your site to search results every time they visit it—signaling low-quality content or UX issues in the eyes of Google's algorithm—it could indirectly negatively affect rankings.