Is data about how many times a site is bookmarked in Chrome used by Google as a ranking factor?
When I was asked to look into it, I had to admit that I had never heard of it. And when I went looking to see if Search Engine Journal had ever reported on this in the history of our site, I couldn’t find anything.
Nonetheless, it appears that this question has arisen over the years, and I continue to see (lower quality) sites perpetuating the myth today.
You’ve probably guessed where I’m going with this, so let’s work it out together.
The Claim: Google Chrome Uses Bookmark Data as a Ranking Factor
One of the top Google results for this claim is a website that claims:
“Google keeps the record of the bookmarked pages in its own server and uses it as a boosting factor. Google collects the user browsing data from Google chrome (sic).”
Of course, because it’s demonstrably false, this will be an easy claim to rank for. I’m hoping that this piece outranks that one so that no one else wastes their time chasing this particular white rabbit.
The Case for Using Chrome Bookmarks Data as a Ranking Factor
True, Google applied for a patent in 2006 titled “Search customization based on user profiles and personalization.” In Google Patents Search, this appears as “Bookmarks and ranking.”
Although it was reassigned in 2017 when Google changed the capitalization of its name, it is currently marked as Abandoned.
Patent citations provide some insight into how others may have used the technologies outlined in Google’s patent for “Search customization based on user profiles and personalization.”
In 2004, for example, IBM issued a patent citing Google’s work for its own “Method, system, and program for ordering search results using an importance weighting.” (Recall IBM’s WebFountain?)
In 2005, Microsoft referred to it in its “Mobile-friendly internet searches.”
Some have questioned whether the Google patent demonstrates that bookmarking data is a ranking factor.
This is known as the “Ancient Aliens” effect, in which simply asking a question – no matter how ridiculous – can lead others to believe that the topic is therefore a possibility.
Is it possible that Google is factoring the number of times your site has been bookmarked in Chrome into its search algorithms?
Is this patent the result of technologies brought to Earth by adorable, inquisitive… aliens millions of years ago?
On both counts, the answer is emphatical no.
Read Which is better for SEO: WWW or non-WWW?
Patenting a technology does not guarantee that it will be used. And if it is, parts of the technology may be used for other purposes, or even by other people and businesses.
Questioning whether bookmarks data is a ranking factor generates a search result that may lead others to believe it is, and so the misinformation cycle continues.
The Case Against Using Chrome Bookmarks Data as a Ranking Factor
The idea of Google using Chrome bookmarks data as a ranking factor is problematic in several ways:
Google has access to far superior data
What you search for (queries), where you search from (device and location), which sites you previously visited, and what you did on those sites (user behavior signals) all tell Google a lot more about any given searcher.
That’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Chrome bookmarking data pales in comparison to these far more useful insights.
Context is missing from bookmarks
Many other forms of user feedback provide more useful context than bookmarks. What valuable information could Google glean from your bookmarking of Dogtime.com?
Are you considering getting a dog?
Doing a dog-related school project?
Looking for a furry pick-me-up with dog pictures if you’re bored or sad?
Simply intending to return to a site later provides no useful information about why you want to do so.
And, without the context of intent, a bookmark is just a meaningless factoid that Google can’t use to personalize or improve the searcher experience.
Bookmarks are far too easy to manipulate
Can you imagine bookmarks becoming a commodity in the same way that links are?
We’d have bookmarking agencies, bookmarking spam, and negative bookmarking (what does that even look like – maybe a bunch of porn and gambling websites bookmarking your bakery website all at once?).
For a fee, you could hire a virtual assistant to bookmark you.
This could not possibly be a useful signal.
Our Opinion on Chrome Bookmarks as a Ranking Factor
To summarize, Google does not use data from Chrome bookmarks as a search ranking signal.
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