Does buying clicks improve rankings? We put it to the test!
Why did we test buying clicks?
Our investigation into buying clicks for rankings all began with a surprising inquiry from one of our clients. They told us that they’d come across online adverts that promised to improve organic Google rankings by purchasing “artificial” clicks through the SERPs. The client wanted to know: What was our opinion on this? Could we advise them?
Normally, we would have dismissed the claims in these ads immediately. We’d have called them dubious, argued that such services serve no purpose, that we cannot ethically support click-buying, and that Google could penalize such practices. This time, in spite of our concerns, the recent Google algorithm leaks (such as the NavBoost Ranking System) had piqued our curiosity enough to investigate properly.
The plan: Our own experiment
We ran our own experiment to find out whether bought clicks on organic search results can actually directly influence rankings. Using two of our own projects, we targeted three different page types per site: blog posts, product pages, and category pages. This was to ensure that we had an overview of how different page types were affected. All selected pages had similar ranking positions and comparable average search volumes to keep things fair.
| Keyword | URL | Page Type | Avg. Pos. | Avg. SV | Avg. CPC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| example keyword 1 | www.example-domain-1.com/shop/category/ | Category | 7 | 720 | $1.85 |
| example keyword 2 | www.example-domain-1.com/shop/productname/ | Product | 8 | 1,000 | $0.80 |
| example keyword 3 | www.example-domain-1.com/ratgeber/articlename | Blog | 8 | 1,000 | $0.54 |
| example keyword 1 | www.example-domain-2.com/blog/articlename | Blog | 7 | 1,300 | $0.58 |
| example keyword 2 | www.example-domain-2.com/c/categoryname | Category | 5 | 4,400 | $1.77 |
| example keyword 3 | www.example-domain-2.com/p/productname | Product | 5 | 2,250 | $0.73 |
This basis allowed us to formulate our hypothesis:
We know that the selected pages already rank in the top 10 and generate traffic. We believe that buying SERP clicks for the three test pages of each example domain (example-domain-1.com and example-domain-2.com) from a click provider will result in improved rankings over the test period. We will determine this by testing approximately 3,150 SERP clicks in the first period and approximately 6,800 SERP clicks in the second period across three different page types: category page, product page, and blog page. We will monitor any ranking changes over three and four-week periods.
We also had to choose the right tools for our experiment. We chose a “click provider” to specifically generate clicks from the SERPs for our artificially generated clicks and have deliberately chosen not to name the provider we selected. For ranking monitoring, we used AccuRanker.
What is a click provider and how does one work?
Click providers “promise” to artificially increase click-through-rate (CTR) through clicks from real people and, as a result, to positively impact your rankings. These real people supposedly specifically search for certain keywords and then click on the specified website in the search results. Such practices are problematic from both an ethical and a technical perspective and can be penalized as search engine manipulation.
The test setup in detail
We wanted to run two test phases with some time between them:
- Test period 1: May 31st to June 21st, 2024
- Test period 2: September 6th to September 27th, 2024
We started with a smaller click volume in the first period, then increased it significantly in the second period.
- Test period 1: 3,150 total clicks, equal to approximately 25 clicks per day per URL
- Test period 2: 6,804 total clicks, equal to approximately 40 clicks per day per URL
We bought clicks equivalent to approximately 50-75% of monthly search volume in period one, and approximately 95-130% in period two. The calculation method was:
((Total clicks ÷ Number of URLs) ÷ Number of Days) * 30.5 = purchased clicks per month
Since we wanted to run our tests in the German market, we chose Germany as the country of origin of the clicks in the click order form and used the geolocation parameter "de" for the search engine.
Figure 1: Order process for clicks for a specific URL and keyword
The setup interface included an additional option to randomize the daily click count. This created more natural variance so it wouldn't be obvious that exactly 25-40 clicks were being generated daily for each keyword and URL.
With these settings, the first test period resulted in 8,925 credit costs per URL (equivalent to approximately $157.60 or about $0.30 per click). The costs for both periods combined totaled approximately $2,960 for around 9,950 clicks.
The results
After completing both test phases, all that was left was to find out whether the additional clicks had influenced our rankings.
Figure 2: The average ranking of example-domain-1.com
The graph shows how the first example domain’s ranking position developed over an extended period. The two test periods (in dark blue) and Google updates (in yellow) are highlighted.
In the first test period (May 31st to June 21st, 2024), rankings remained stable, and we saw no significant changes. However, in the first test-free period at the end of June, a negative development appeared. This downward trend notably coincided with Google’s “June Spam Update”, which could indicate that the domain was negatively impacted by the algorithm update.
In the second test period (September 6th to September 27th, 2024), rankings continued to deteriorate. Here, too, there was little visible success, and average ranking positions plummeted. Once the second test period was over, the downward trend persisted. Rankings continued to fluctuate without a triumphant recovery in sight.
Overall, the results show that the tests had no positive influence on rankings.
Figure 3: The average ranking of example-domain-2.com
In the first test period for the second domain, the average ranking position was relatively stable and remained so once the test period was over, with only slight fluctuations. Both the “June Spam Update” and Google’s “August Core Update” had no discernable impact on our rankings, suggesting that the domain was largely unaffected by algorithm changes. However, rankings declined during the second test period, and this downward trend in the average position continued even after testing concluded.
The key takeaways
Our tests and their results have shown that we can’t find a direct positive influence of clicks on rankings in either case – either with example-domain-1.com or example-domain-2.com. Instead, we observed negative ranking developments:
- example-domain-1.com experienced a continuous downward trend
- example-domain-2.com’s rankings remained constant until the second test period, at which point they nosedived.
Our experiment shows that buying clicks doesn’t have a direct positive effect on organic rankings. This makes it an unsustainable strategy for boosting underperforming keywords. Simply put, buying clicks doesn't work.
Beyond the poor results, we also have ethical concerns about this method. There are a few reasons for this:
- It violates the guidelines of all search engines known to us and could lead to worse consequences if you get caught, such as ranking losses and penalties.
- Buying clicks harms your domain’s transparency and credibility, as the artificial clicks also generate artificial signals that provide no real value to users or search engines.
- Click providers create two major concerns. First, their lack of transparency makes it impossible to verify if clicks come from real users. Second, even legitimate clicks offer no value since users most likely won’t engage with your content once they are on your site.
Ultimately, the costs associated with this method are disproportionate to the results. Our test found that the purchased clicks could neither improve visibility nor ensure long-term ranking stability. Instead of wasting your time and money, focus your resources on proven SEO strategies that have a measurable and sustainable impact: high-quality content, technically flawless pages, and meeting search intent. This is what will create long-term stable rankings and provide real value.
Now it’s your turn. Have you had any experience with this topic? What’s your opinion on click providers? Share your experience – good or bad – and let’s open the conversation.
Andre Alpar is a seasoned performance marketing expert with 25 years of experience and a strong SEO background. He has built and sold multiple businesses, including the international search and content marketing agency AKM3, which had 170 employees. This agency was majority-acquired by Publicis in 2014 and integrated into Performics. These days, he is active as a speaker and investor, primarily in the digital marketing space.