2

I wanted to load test my server and I thought of adding chrome auto refresh, set it to 10-15sec then open 30 tabs of my website. Wanted to know how many simultaneous site loads my server can handle. It did spike up...

Did refreshing my website in 30 tabs for like 10 minutes hurt my SEO? Does every refresh count as a bounce and a session, yet from 1 user?

Stephen Ostermiller
  • 98,758
  • 18
  • 137
  • 361
Karl Fanega
  • 23
  • 2
  • Why do you think it will be seen by Google Analytics as many sessions? Are you clearing the browser cookies between each refresh? – Stephen Ostermiller Sep 14 '17 at 10:33
  • Thank you for the edit and clarification. I did not clear browser cookies. I reckon GA will rely on those right? So I guess the manual load testing that I did was safe? – Karl Fanega Sep 14 '17 at 10:35
  • I'm also curious as to why you think bounces as measured by Google Analytics hurt SEO. Google has said GA data is not used for rankings. Google almost certainly uses "bounce back rate" as measured by searchers that hit the back button, but that doesn't come from GA. See: Does a site's bounce rate influence Google rankings? – Stephen Ostermiller Sep 14 '17 at 10:38
  • Just off my own head, I thought Google measures bounce rates as a measurement that could hurt rankings. Even the owner of a site I used to work on kept telling me not to refresh the website too much as it might hurt the ranking. Didn't really get why, never wanted to ask. But based on the link you sent, it seems it is still an unanswered question, but I do lean towards your point. – Karl Fanega Sep 14 '17 at 10:50
  • Google gather any information only when user come from google search to your site. Let me know what you want to achieve by refreshing same page again n again? To increase pageviews and so on SEO or ranking? – Goyllo Sep 14 '17 at 12:25
  • @Goylio I tihnk he is using the refreshes to do some load testing but is afraid that the method he is using is going to hurt his Google rankings. – Stephen Ostermiller Sep 14 '17 at 13:34
  • Bounce rate as far as Google is concerned are based upon users clicking on a SERP link and then hitting the back button. Any metrics gathered via GA are not reflective in search metrics. You are fine though I would suggest turning off GA first just to save your metrics as being reflective of actual usage. Cheers!! – closetnoc Sep 15 '17 at 02:28
  • @Goyllo I was not trying to increase pageviews.. but basically wanted to check if my stupid idea would work in load testing my server. And it did.. For the 10min I was doing that the server CPU usage spiked a little. But just got curious on the many tabs opened and many reloads if it might hurt SEO. – Karl Fanega Sep 15 '17 at 03:16
  • 1
    Nope. You are okay! – closetnoc Sep 15 '17 at 04:02
  • As everyone said it's totally fine. And if you don't wont to count those visits in analytic then you can filter your visitors, or you can also block whole analytics domain via localhost file or you can use browser side extension like uBlock origin or Sybu JavaScript Blocker. – Goyllo Sep 15 '17 at 05:25

1 Answers1

0

Bounces don't hurt your SEO. There are many sites where a high bounce rate is expected and common, such as blogs. It's typical that someone will read a new blog post and then leave the site, resulting in a "bounce," but many blogs achieve great SEO results.

Tracy Welsh Ryan
  • 36
  • 4
  • I used to believe this too. But not any more. You are right that there are plenty of sites that satisfy user expectations quickly, and Google did say that they expect this behavior for some sites, however, unfortunately this does not seem to prove out anymore. Google has leaned more heavily towards engagement meaning that user should stay and explore the site at least a bit before bouncing back. – closetnoc Sep 15 '17 at 02:25
  • So.. @closetnoc you think Bounces hurt SEO? Or they don't, but somehow google rewards those sites where a user stays for a while before bouncing back.? – Karl Fanega Sep 15 '17 at 03:10
  • @KarlFanega Bounces hurt. It used to depend on the site, but now it appears that those sites that enjoyed success with high bounce rates are penalized for other reasons. These sites are now largely seen as low quality. Whois sites are prime examples. – closetnoc Sep 15 '17 at 04:01