Travel Time Is a Metric for Google’s Ranking

When Moz conducted this year’s Ranking Correlation Study (Ranking Factors), there was a deliberate effort to incorporate previously unstudied data points. Fortunately,  provided precisely the data needed for this endeavor. For the first time, Moz had the opportunity to analyze ranking correlations with both traffic and engagement metrics.

By leveraging Moz’s extensive ranking data covering over 200,000 domains, alongside various metrics from ncluding traffic volume, page views, bounce rate, time spent on site, and overall rank—the Search Ranking Factors study was able to assess how these metrics related to higher rankings.

These metrics represent a departure from the traditional SEO parameters that Moz has historically examined, as they predominantly focus on user-based metrics. This distinction means that these metrics vary based on how users interact with individual websites, as opposed to static features like title tag length. Understanding the significance of these user-based metrics is crucial as we explore how search engines may utilize them in ranking webpages, as eloquently elucidated in an insightful post by Dan Petrovic.