NavBoost

NavBoost is a Google ranking system that re-ranks results using aggregated user-click behavior. Its existence and rough mechanics became public through two events in 2024: the Department of Justice antitrust trial, where Google witnesses discussed it under oath, and the May 2024 leak of internal Search API documentation, which named click-related features. Together they confirmed what SEOs had long suspected, that Google measures and uses the post-click loop.

The signals NavBoost is described as using include click-through rate, the distinction between long and short clicks, last-long-click (the result the user ultimately stayed on), and pogo-sticking (returning to the results and clicking a different one). In aggregate, across many users and a sliding window, these tell Google which result actually satisfied the query. A result that earns clicks and keeps users is promoted; one that earns clicks and gets bounced is demoted.

The strategic lesson is that ranking cannot be fully gamed through on-page tricks, because Google measures behavior, not just content. The way to benefit from NavBoost is to earn the click with a strong title and snippet, then genuinely satisfy the intent so the user does not bounce. It also means brand and reputation matter: users click brands they recognize, which feeds the very signal that lifts those brands. We surface CTR and engagement data where available because they are the observable shadow of this system.