SEO experts have had a difficult time trying to figure out the RankBrain search program since Google rolled out its newest AI in 2015, according to Search Engine Land. It’s not as easily analyzed as the search algorithms from the “good old days” of search engine optimizing.However, some of these search professionals have figured out a few techniques that seem to be effective at this time.
Ensuring that SERP snippets representing your brand are set to reflect consumer needs and desires arean important part of it. Founder of WordStream, Larry Kim believes the Relevance Score in RankBrain is very similar to the Quality Score of Adwords, so it may be prudent to focus on organic click-through rates.
Google search programs have always been able to distinguish between quality websites and plain old spam so use a good one for your model. Also, even though optimizing for search platforms is important, don’t forget who you’re designing websites for, ultimately – people, not programs. Let your tone be personable and friendly to the user. Believe it or not, AI search protocols are getting smarter, so over time they will learn more of what qualifies as substantive site content.
Ranking factors are ever-changing with Rank Brain, so don’t count on a finite set of criteria to optimize your sites for the search engines. Keywords still work well, but don’t focus on one word or phrase on each page – diversify a little. Also, keep your content refreshed. The whole concept of “keywords” is beginning to blur a little as machine learning begins to understand and rank “key concepts.”
