{"id":16922,"date":"2021-02-19T18:30:07","date_gmt":"2021-02-20T02:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alejandrorioja.com\/blog\/?p=16922"},"modified":"2023-09-26T05:56:03","modified_gmt":"2023-09-26T12:56:03","slug":"rankbrain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alejandrorioja.com\/rankbrain\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Google RankBrain SEO and How Does it Affect Your Rankings?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Announced in late-2015, RankBrain is Google\u2019s latest big algorithm when it comes to search and <\/span>SEO<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

And as a marketer, understanding how Rank Brain works is key to rank at the top. <\/span><\/p>\n

Don’t believe me? Take it straight from Google!<\/span><\/p>\n

In a interview with Bloomberg<\/span><\/a>, Google expressed that RankBrain is the <\/span>\u201cthird most important factor\u201d<\/i><\/b> when it comes to determining the order of the results they show. (The other two are content and backlinks).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In this article I want to dive into what RankBrain is, understand how it operates and propose a strategy to <\/span>skyrocket your rankings<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ready to beat Google at its own game?<\/span><\/p>\n

What is RankBrain?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Rank Brain is an algorithm launched by Google that helps it sort its result pages using machine learning. <\/span><\/p>\n

(Machine learning is a way for computers to learn and extract information based on data that they encounter, as opposed to coders explicitly declaring that knowledge.) <\/span><\/p>\n

Previously, Google Search Results were tweaked manually by engineers <\/span>based on metrics they thought were useful<\/span><\/a> (i.e. CTR, dwell-time or load speed). <\/span><\/p>\n

Now, with RankBrain, <\/span>Google is letting an AI tweak its results autonomously<\/b>,<\/span> on the fly.<\/b><\/p>\n

For instance, for a particular keyword like \u201cchocolate chip cookies\u201d, RankBrain may decide that backlinks are not as important as reviews, so it can modify the importance that those metrics carry on the SERPs. (Search Engine Result Pages)<\/span><\/p>\n

But how does RankBrain know which metrics are relevant for a particular keyword?<\/span><\/h4>\n

It doesn\u2019t. Rankbrain learns by means of experiments. <\/span><\/p>\n

Following the cookies example, RankBrain adjusts various SEO metrics<\/a> until it finds a formula that leads to the highest customer satisfaction (which could be lowest bounce rate, for instance). <\/span><\/p>\n

Through Google\u2019s own experiments, they found that RankBrain was <\/span>10% more accurate<\/span><\/a> than Google\u2019s own engineers when it came to predicting the best page to show. <\/span><\/p>\n

RankBrain is now <\/span>deployed worldwide<\/span><\/a> in all the millions of search queries that Google receives each second. <\/span><\/p>\n

RankBrain is a part of the much larger, Google Hummingbird algorithm. <\/span><\/p>\n

According to one of the heads at the Google Machine Learning division, Jeff Dean, RankBrain affects the actual rankings \u201cprobably not in every query but in a lot of queries.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s dive deeper into how RankBrain works<\/span><\/h2>\n

As I mentioned before, RankBrain constantly organizes the SERPs to find the most accurate rankings for a particular search term. <\/span><\/p>\n

RankBrain uses <\/span>semantic analysis<\/b> to understand what your query is all about. <\/span><\/p>\n

This means that RankBrain no longer just looks at keywords (and keyword density) but rather, it tries to understand the meaning behind your search. <\/span><\/p>\n

For instance if I ask, \u201cfirst product by apple\u201d, then RankBrain produces the following accurate results.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

In the past, pages where the keywords \u201cfirst\u201d, \u201cproduct\u201d and \u201capple\u201d appeared the most and had the most relevance would be shown.<\/span><\/p>\n

Same deal if I search for “who sings Gucci Gang.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As evidenced, Google cares more about the context and meaning of your search. <\/span><\/p>\n

To do this, RankBrain groups words into concepts and finds pages that covers those concepts in depth. <\/span><\/p>\n

It also takes into account things like user location. For instance, if you search for the “World Cup 2018 location” and are located in Russia (World Cup host) , then it might show map directions. If you are located in the US, then it might just show information about the city where it is being hosted.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(Keep reading to see how this affects SEO keyword targeting in a RankBrain-first world) <\/span><\/p>\n

How does RankBrain measure user satisfaction?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Google\u2019s ultimate goal is to show you the best possible set of pages and user satisfaction is at the core of Google search. <\/span><\/p>\n

Although the actual satisfaction metrics have not been released officially by Google, we can make assumptions as to what those are. <\/span><\/p>\n

If I had to guess, then I would say RankBrain looks at:<\/span><\/p>\n