Pogo sticking is to a web page what bad breath is to kissing.

Pogo sticking is when someone conducts a search, clicks through to your webpage, but then immediately hits the back button and clicks on a different result.

It’s like your website has bad breath that’s driving would be leads away – without them even giving you a chance.

Consistent pogo sticking is a strong indication to search engine algorithms that your content is either irrelevant or poor quality.  As this behavior is tracked, it will hurt your individual page rankings and your ability to rank content on your domain overall.  It will also lower quality scores for paid search, meaning you’ll be paying more for your PPC ads.

On the other hand, high quality content that keeps people on the page and seems to satisfy the needs of searchers is rewarded with higher rankings.

In short, pogo sticking is a search user behavior you need to avoid at all costs.  Here are some tips that are like Listerine for garlic breath.

 

#1.  Understand and Match the Search Intent

If someone searches for “how to install laminate flooring”, you need a page that explains the steps involved in laminate flooring installation.

If someone searches for “laminate flooring reviews”, you need a page that has in-depth reviews of different types of flooring.

If someone searches for “best deals on laminate flooring” you want a product page that has your sales and special offers on laminate flooring.

The best way to avoid pogo sticking is to have content that matches the intent of the search query.  If you try to push aggressive sales content on someone looking for information, they’re likely to pogo.  By the same token, if someone is shopping and you hit them with tons of text to read, they’ll pogo.

To a large extent, the search algorithms help here because they try to only rank content relevant to the search intent.  Still, put yourself into the mind of the person conducting the search and envision the content they’re looking for.  For important keyword phrases, you’ll want to create individual pages optimized for those keywords.

When you match that intent, you’ll keep them on your website.

 

#2.  Front Load the Important Stuff

A webpage is not mystery story.  You don’t want to wait until the end to reveal the most important info.

Effective web pages front-load the most important content.  You want visitors to grasp vital information on your page almost instantly.

You want to grab their attention, but with a business web page you also have to make sure you orient them.  Make sure the who, what, and where of your content is clear so they know they’ve found the right page.

For example, this contractor homepage is very clear about what they do, what areas they service, and how to contact them.  Someone looking for a plumber or HVAC contractor won’t pogo from this page.

If they want to buy a product, get your product up there.  If they need information, make sure your title and headline explain the purpose of the article.

Once people know they are in the right place and you hook their interest, you can go into more detail.

And note that front loading content also applies to images.  Often, webpages (particularly homepages) will have pretty but irrelevant images on the homepage.  Realtors with pictures of mountain peaks, lawyers with images of families walking through a grassy field, HVAC repair with images of a city skyline.

These pretty images are almost always stock photos, used to fill in space with the intent of simply looking nice.

For example, this homepage image is optimized for people looking for family rafting trips in Colorado.  The image makes it totally clear that searches for that query have found the right content:

Use a hero shot that edifies the main idea of your page.  Images are the fastest way to communicate an idea, and using them effectively will do a lot to prevent pogo sticking.

 

#3.  Structure Your Content

To keep people from pogo sticking, make sure your content is both eye-catching and easy on the eye.

As we mentioned, images that match the topic are effective at catching people’s attention.

Also make sure your design is clean, with proper use of colors, a logical layout, and easy to use navigation.

Break your text up into headers, sub-headers, and short blocks of text.  Keep paragraphs and sentences short.  Use bullet points, lists, and bold face that make it easy for people to skim read.

Too much content that overwhelms users causes pogo sticking.  Most online readers find really long blocks of text too daunting to bother with.  We just move on to find a more concise explanation.

Also, too many images or other heavy content causes page load times to increase.  Slow loading pages result in pogo sticking before the user even sees your content.  These also hurt your SEO.

 

#4.  Mobile Responsive

This is starting to become old news, yet many businesses are still catching up.  You must have a mobile responsive website that formats your content for phone screens.

More than half of all internet traffic today is on mobile.  If you have a static website that doesn’t format for mobile phones, it will be difficult (to impossible) for visitors to consume your content.

This means instant pogo sticking.  Nobody is going to hang around on an outdated site that they can’t navigate on their phones.

 

Wrap-Up

If the content on your domain seems to always struggle with organic results and low quality scores, pogo sticking may be a primary culprit.

Remember that pogo sticking is not the same as bounce rate.  A bounce is a one page visit from any source.  Pogo sticking happens when someone clicks from a search results page then clicks right back to that page.  When this happens often, the algorithm calculates that your content isn’t meeting the searcher’s need.

SEO and PPC marketing today are all about connecting your content to people who will enjoy and benefit from it.  Make that your goal and pogo sticking is much less likely to be a problem.