I'm wondering if it helps to click on my listing in the search results to improve rankings on Google?
If my page has content with keyword abcde, and somebody types "abcde" in Google and finds my website, say on page 5, and clicks on it, could it make my website go to page 4?
It is my understanding that Google does not improve rankings based on traffic volume by direct traffic nor does it improve rankings based on clicks received through thier search engine. This however is somewhat different on Googles image results as I'm lend to believe that clicking improves image rankings.
While clicking serps or at least what we know doesn't directly improve your rankings it eventually will since indirectly the more clicks you get the more people visit your site and off course the more likelihood your get social mentions and backlinks.
Judging from a technical point-of-view, Google uses usage data in order to improve search results. It is widely mentioned in publications as a method to improve search rankings, and therefor I think it's an educated guess that Google is using these known parameters to improve their rankings. It is actually considered one of their main competitive advantages that makes it impossible to reach their level of relevancy without holding the same behavior data they hold. One of the pillars of search engines is a reference model which you can check and see if you improved your results. User behavior data creates a great reference model, and helps you evaluate your algorithm changes and improve.
It is far more complex than if (someone clicked me on page 5) -> next time page 4
There are many inbound factors, and CTR rates are just one parameter. You can read a bit more about it here and by studying relevant patents Google submitted.
Short Answer: Yes, it is a factor.
Long answer: It doesn't work in your case. It won't help on pages other than page 1. Rank Fishkin has tested this with success. However, it only works for real clicks. Botted traffic using proxies does not work.
To use this factor to your advantage, you need desirable descriptions and titles. Additionally, there are now SERP CTR click exchange websites. Some of them use browser extensions for users to click on each other's SERP.
It will improve your SERP. I am 100% positive and did some simple tricks like browsing using VPN and clicking on our SERP around 10-20 times and the next day, it came up one page ahead. But this is temporary and will be reverted as soon as systems finds out the clicks aren't coming anymore.
