User signals
User signals are key if you want to achieve digital success. User signals are a kind of footprint that users leave on your digital path, telling search engines like Google whether your content is good and relevant - and whether your website deserves a good ranking in search results.
Read on to find out why these interactions are your ticket to a better ranking in Google search results.

- Home page " Dictionary " User signals
- Last updated:
What are user signals - and why are they so important?
User signals is a term for the many interactions users have with your website. These interactions act as indicators for search engines like Google to determine if your website's content is relevant and valuable. Based on these signals, search engines determine where your website should be placed in organic search results - a key factor in your digital success.
Understanding the meaning of user signals is therefore fundamental if you want a good position in search results that can help you generate traffic and conversions to your website.
Imagine you have a trendy restaurant in the city. Your restaurant is obviously good, so when guests visit it, they have a great gastronomic experience - and they can't wait to recommend your place to their friends and acquaintances. This creates a buzz around your restaurant that spreads by word of mouth.
In the digital world, this buzz is your user signals. When your website is good and relevant, users will spend more time on your website, visit more of your subpages and maybe even convert by buying your products, downloading your e-book or something else entirely. If people "talk good" about your website through positive interactions (good user signals), Google will notice and prioritize your site higher in the organic search results.
How do user signals relate to SEO?
SEO, or search engine optimization, is about improving the visibility of your website in search engines like Google. User signals are a cornerstone of SEO as Google wants to deliver the most relevant and valuable results to its users.
By optimizing your user signals, you show Google that your website meets these criteria, which can improve your ranking - and increase the amount of traffic flowing to your website.
What kinds of user signals are there?
So now you know that user signals play a crucial role in helping search engines understand how visitors interact with your website. There are many actions that Google recognizes as user signals. Here are some specific signals you should pay attention to:
- Click Through Rate (CTR)
Your Click Through Rate indicates what percentage of those who see your website in search results actually click on it. The Danish term for CTR is click through rate, and a high click through rate is often a sign that your website is relevant to the given search and keywords.
Click through rate is an important user signal because lots of clicks mean that users like your website. Google sees this as a sign that your content is good - and you'll be rewarded with a high ranking in the organic search results. - Bounce rate
The bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who leave your website after visiting just one page. It may go without saying, but search engines like Google can take a high bounce rate as a sign that your content is not relevant or engaging enough for the user.
It can also be a sign that your website is confusing to navigate - but that's not much better because it all contributes to your website being ranked poorly in search results. Pogo sticking
Pogosticking is when a user clicks on your website in the search results - but quickly returns and chooses another result. This can be seen as a sign that your content is not meeting the user's needs, and there can be many reasons for this - for example, if your content is not relevant, engaging or accessible.It may sound like the same as bounce rate, but there is a key difference: while bounce rate is a percentage that indicates whether visitors interact with more than one page on a website, pogo sticking is a phenomenon that describes users' satisfaction with a website in relation to their original search intent.
Guide to improving your user signals
You might be thinking that you urgently need to improve your user signals - and we can understand that. But to have good user signals, all you really need is for your website to be good and easy to understand. So here's a guide on how you can improve your user signals by optimizing your website:
- Work on your content
If your content is engaging, chances are you can minimize your bounce rate. Attractive, well-written and engaging content - which is also presented in a consistent and accessible layout - will pique the user's interest and make them curious about what else your website has to offer. Make sure your content scores high on:
Relevance: Your content should match what visitors expect to find, which can reduce pogo sticking and improve bounce rate. In other words, deliver what you promise. If a user searches for "yellow rain jackets on sale" and that's one of your keywords, it's also important that you actually sell yellow rain jackets that are on sale.
Engagement: Attract users with visual elements and a nice layout with a common thread. Your content should even be interactive so that users can, for example, press CTA buttons such as "read more here", "add to cart", "go to cart", etc.
Readability: Organize your content in a clear way so that readers are not bombarded with body text when they click on your website in search results. Use more digestible subheadings, short paragraphs and bulleted lists for a better reading experience. - Work with the technical
Besides the content of your website itself, the technical aspects of your website are also important.
Loading speed: No user wants to wait for a website that loads and loads, stutters or is generally slow. A high loading speed provides a better user experience and creates good user signals.
Work on mobile optimization: With more and more searches coming from mobile devices, it's imperative that your website also works well from mobile phones.
Have a user-friendly design: Make sure your website is intuitively designed and keeps users engaged. For example, you can use CTA buttons to guide the user from the first click until the conversion is complete.
Work on meta titles and descriptions: Good meta titles and meta descriptions can make your website more visible in the results because your website captures users by using the right keywords and catchy language. It can also be a good idea to use so-called "power words" in bid form, such as "Buy" and "Discover".
Put your digital destiny in capable hands
Navigating the digital landscape can be complex and overwhelming - at least if you're going it alone. Fortunately, Amplify can help you - and with us by your side, you're in safe hands because we're a leading SEO agency backed by a team of experts.
Contact us on +45 70 60 50 28 or send an email to info@amplify.dk and let's talk about how Amplify's SEO specialists can help you succeed in the digital universe.
Are you ready to test your knowledge?
Now that you're all set, it's time to test what you've learned about user signals!
What are user signals?
User interactions on your website and in search results.
Why are user signals important?
They affect your website's ranking in organic search results and user engagement.
What is Click Through Rate?
The percentage of users who click on your website.
What does pogo sticking mean?
When users quickly return to search results after clicking on your website.
How can a high rejection rate be interpreted?
Your content may not be relevant or engaging to the user.
Why is mobile optimization important?
More and more searches are coming from mobile devices.
How are user signals and SEO related?
User signals give search engines like Google an indication of your website's relevance and value.
More concepts
Want to learn more digital marketing terms? Our digital dictionary is full of them - and we're constantly updating it.