Topic
Behavior
Nothing here judges a page by what it says. These systems watch what people do with it afterwards — which result they pick, how long they stay, whether they come back — and turn that into a re-ranking signal. Which is why the last system in this class does nothing but defend the data against people who know that.
01Systems5
- 01A/BNavBoost / CRAPSNavBoost, the system that evaluates clicks from Google search, watches what users do after a search. Do they click on a weather page and stay, or jump straight back to Google? The last, longest click of a session is the strongest signal, because it shows the need was genuinely met. Real user behavior thus becomes a re-ranking signal, without Google having to read the content directly.
- 02BGlue / Instant GlueGlue is the counterpart to NavBoost for special Google elements like carousels, 'People also ask' boxes, or news features. It measures whether users interact with these elements: tapping a carousel, expanding an answer in a PAA box, or arriving at a page via a news feature. Instant Glue is the real-time variant for fast-moving events.
- 03BTangramTangram evaluates nothing itself. It is the assembly layer that takes the ratings from NavBoost and Glue and builds the final search results page from them. Think of it as a conductor: it decides which elements appear where on the results page, but it doesn't judge whether the content is good.
- 04BChrome signalsChrome data show how often a site is accessed in the Chrome browser overall, regardless of whether someone arrived via Google search or typed the URL directly. High direct visits show that users trust the site enough to navigate there without asking Google. The metric measures brand popularity and willingness to return.
- 05BIP-Prior / Squashing / voterTokenThis system protects the integrity of click data. It detects when click patterns look unnatural, for example when many clicks come from the same IP addresses or are artificially directed at a page. Such suspicious clicks are filtered out ('damped') before they can influence ranking.
02Deep Dives5
- NavBoost: How Google Uses Click Behavior to Re-Rank Search ResultsFrom DOJ testimony to leaked API documentation — the most important ranking signal you can't directly manipulate
- Glue: How Google Measures Interaction with Special Search FeaturesThe NavBoost counterpart for carousels, 'People also ask' boxes, and news features — measuring whether users interact with special elements, not just blue links
- Chrome signals: How Browser Data Complements Search DataThe signals that measure how often a site is accessed directly in Chrome — independent of Google Search
- IP-Prior: How Google Protects Click Data from ManipulationThe system that detects unnatural click patterns and protects NavBoost from gaming — the integrity layer of behavioral ranking
- Tangram: The Assembly Layer That Builds Search ResultsTangram evaluates nothing itself — it takes ratings from NavBoost and Glue and decides what appears on the results page, where, and in what order
03Leak fields6
- B
goodClicks / badClicksClicks for a combination of search query and page, rated as satisfied or disappointed.NavBoost - B
lastLongestClicksThe last and longest click of a session. It is the strongest satisfaction signal.NavBoost - B/C
GlueResponseBehavioral data on SERP features (extra elements on the results page) that Tangram assembles for display.Glue / Tangram - B
chromeInTotal / uniqueChromeViewsTotal Chrome views or unique viewers. Both measure site-wide attachment.Chrome - B/C
unscaledIpPriorBadFractionShare of suspicious clicks per IP range. It dampens manipulation.IP-Prior - C
voterTokenIdentifies a click 'ballot' and so makes repeat voting harder.IP-Prior