Google ranking algorithms are no longer run exclusively by humans. A new machine learning technology called RankBrain has entered the search game and is now responsible for most (if not all) of Google’s search results.
What is RankBrain’s impact on SEO, and what do Digital marketers need to know about this new buzzword?
What Is RankBrain?
RankBrain is Google's machine learning, artificial Intelligence system for processing search results. It works with Google’s current search algorithms to deliver better, faster, and more complete results.
How does it work?
RankBrain is responsible for converting the innumerable search words, and keywords entered into the Google search engine to quantitative figures that machines like computers can decipher and understand.
It uses mathematical processes called vectors and advanced semantic processes to learn about people’s search patterns and apply the inferences to future search results rather than being pre-programmed and scripted.
In simple words, RankBrain is a system that tries to give a better meaning to search queries, understand the real ‘user intent’, and return the most appropriate results to the user.
For example, if there is a word that RankBrain is not familiar with, it can make assumptions about the other words or phrases with similar meanings to filter those for the user.
How Effective is RankBrain?
Google engineers competed against RankBrain for its effectiveness by guessing which search pages would rank at the top of Google search results. In the end, it was found that the engineers made correct guesses almost 70% of the time, but RankBrain stole the show by making 80% correct guesses.
Is it an algorithm?
RankBrain is not an algorithm itself. It is the latest addition to Google's search engine algorithm, the Hummingbird.
What are the improvements in search that we are looking at?
When we search on Google, our queries are not always restricted to any short phrase or a few words. In fact, rather than a simple search that the pre-RankBrain Google algorithm could handle, we are often eager to write full sentences such as, “Where do I find the best coffee shop with a view of a river in France?” These cannot be effectively dealt with by an ordinary search algorithm.
Google conceptualized RankBrain for this very purpose—technology that studies and learns from the study. Whenever a question is entered into the search box, Google either gives the exact result or filters the nearest results related to the query, but RankBrain learns from such attempts and gives a more comprehensive result in the future.
RankBrain will make every question meaningful to the search engine algorithm, making it more like talking to someone. Judged as the third most important ranking factor, RankBrain is now responsible for the majority of Google’s search results.
RankBrain’s Impact on Search
Further, it is safe to assume that a few changes are likely to occur because of Google RankBrain.
- Improved search results guarantee user satisfaction, meaning users are not going to browse through many results. The first three results will be the most popular and frequently used. This means the pages that rank in the top positions will get the most traffic, making the rest of the entries less important.
- Highly optimized results also mean greater relevance. Less comprehensive websites/results will drop in rankings and gradually lose their high rankings, as only the best results get ranked.
- Google trains RankBrain offline, meaning it’s supplied with words or phrases that might become viral on the net. This particular feature is helpful for website owners who have content with unconventional topics or words. RankBrain would immediately identify those words and make the results more relevant to the users.
- RankBrain is believed to be making search results smarter and more user-friendly. We are now in the habit of searching with long-tail keywords, as we want more accurate and specific results.
RankBrain and SEO
Great Content is more important than ever
The SEO world knows that keywords are crucial when writing content for any website. Google’s algorithms can identify these in a page's content and use them in the ranking process.
Keywords alone, though, will not get you far. Google’s processes (including RankBrain) are clever enough to identify great content, but without providing users with a great experience, your chances of ranking high in the results are limited.
Continuous update of the ranking algorithm
Previously, a mathematical algorithm was formulated to determine search rankings, remaining constant and effective until the next update.
The algorithm has undergone some profound changes with RankBrain. The results will now continuously fluctuate to ensure accuracy. Therefore, website owners must be equally versatile and smart when choosing their keywords.
RankBrain utilizes Artificial Intelligence to determine what the user really wants to find out. Therefore, instead of creating pages that solely focus on a single keyword, it would be better to create content that targets the main keyword and a number of related keywords.
A Final Verdict
Artificial Intelligence has always been considered the next step in technological evolution. With the introduction of RankBrain in search algorithms, it is more than certain that the SEO landscape will gradually become more about the user experience and less about keywords or other traditional ranking signals.
RankBrain is now responsible for billions of search queries, and it is certain that in the months or years to come, it will play an even more important role in improving the quality of Google search results.
