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What is Google RankBrain?

Is it a hip new game show? A nutritional supplement that’ll make you super smart?

Nope.

Google RankBrain is a machine-learning artificial intelligence (AI) system Google developed to serve up the best-fit results for rare or one-of-a-kind search queries. It’s part of Google’s search algorithm, and it’s also their third-most important ranking factor, behind content and links.

Without getting too technical, RankBrain was created to handle queries Google has never seen before. When someone searches a word or phrase RankBrain isn’t familiar with, the system makes an “intelligent” guess (based on what it’s “learned” in the past) as to what terms might have a similar meaning. Based on those words and phrases, Google filters and delivers search results.

Undeniably cool, but the question remains:

Why should you care about Google RankBrain?

One word (well, one acronym): SEO! Since RankBrain heavily influences search results, you need to make it part of your modern SEO strategy. Keyword stuffing won’t work (in fact, it’s a really, really bad idea), and RankBrain is way too smart for old-school SEO tactics [Read our post on New School vs. Old School SEO] like cloaking.

And honestly, trying to optimize the content on your website for RankBrain is like trying to predict the future – because you can’t optimize content for one-of-a-kind queries that nobody’s typed into Google yet. But don’t worry; there are some specific steps you can take to make sure your website is RankBrain-friendly:

Write good content that humans find irresistible.

Write conversationally and focus on content that’s relevant to your audience. When you write naturally for humans, you’re automatically making your content RankBrain-friendly. Answer questions and problems they have and focus on the topic – not just one keyword.

Improve your meta titles and description.

You know those little summaries that show up under the titles in search results? Make those descriptions of copy more compelling to readers, so they know they’ll find what they want on your site and click through. Higher click-through rates signals to RankBrain that your content is relevant for humans (which is ideal for SEO). If you can increase your click-through rate you’ll improve your search rankings.

Increase dwell-time and decrease bounce rate.

Google RankBrain is looking at the time people spend on your site. If they spend a lot of time after clicking on your search results, that’s an indicator that your site and content is relevant and valuable. On the other hand, if the visit your site and immediately “bounce” (leaving after the first page) then that’s a negative signal and you may lose rank.

Get help from SEO experts.

Search engine optimization is a continually evolving and highly technical process. To ensure potential customers find you online – and direct the right people to your website – BARQAR uses a strategic, 6-step approach to ongoing SEO.

It costs nothing to find out what our SEO experts can do for you. Just request a free SEO strategy audit! We’ll review what you’re doing right, and provide practical suggestions for improving your search rankings and driving more qualified leads. Get your free SEO audit from BARQAR (bark-er).

 

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One Response

  1. Thank you for this blog post. The information is excellent. I didn’t know that Google RankBrain could help increase my SEO results as well by allowing me to get assistance from SEO experts. The help with writing human-irresistible content is also a big plus.

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