{"id":15329,"date":"2022-02-20T18:13:05","date_gmt":"2022-02-20T18:13:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/20\/is-rankbrain-a-ranking-factor\/"},"modified":"2022-02-20T18:13:05","modified_gmt":"2022-02-20T18:13:05","slug":"is-rankbrain-a-ranking-factor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/20\/is-rankbrain-a-ranking-factor\/","title":{"rendered":"Is RankBrain A Ranking Factor?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Without knowing what \u201cRankBrain\u201d means, people new to SEO may assume it refers to a technology Google uses to rank search results.<\/p>\n

That assumption isn\u2019t far off, but not every component of Google\u2019s search algorithm is a ranking factor in and of itself.<\/p>\n

In this article, we\u2019ll investigate the claims around RankBrain as a ranking factor and provide clarity on what RankBrain<\/a> is and how it\u2019s used in search results.\n<\/p>\n

The Claim: RankBrain Is A Ranking Factor<\/h2>\n

RankBrain is a technology that\u2019s said to impact how Google returns search results.<\/p>\n

Due to its association with search, RankBrain is commonly referred to as a ranking factor.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re new to SEO, you may hear that and start to think RankBrain is one more signal you have to optimize for.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s exactly not how it works.<\/p>\n

The next section goes over what RankBrain is designed to do, and when it\u2019s called upon by Google to assist with answering queries.<\/p>\n

The Evidence: Is RankBrain A Ranking Factor?<\/h2>\n

RankBrain is an artificial intelligence (AI) system introduced in 2015 to help Google with returning results for queries that have never been searched before.<\/p>\n

That changed somewhere between the spring of 2015 and 2016 when an unannounced update was made to RankBrain which integrated the AI into all queries.<\/p>\n

This information was revealed in a Wired article, which notes Google isn\u2019t clear on how RankBrain improves all queries but it does<\/strong> affect rankings.<\/p>\n

From Wired<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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\u201cGoogle is characteristically fuzzy on exactly how it improves search (something to do with the long tail? Better interpretation of ambiguous requests?) but [Google engineer Jeff Dean] says that RankBrain is \u201cinvolved in every query,\u201d and affects the actual rankings \u201cprobably not in every query but in a lot of queries.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What differentiates RankBrain from other Google algorithms is its ability to learn how to answer more ambiguous queries.<\/p>\n

As Google\u2019s Gary Illyes explains<\/a>, this is accomplished through making educated guesses at what a user would likely click on for a never-before-seen query.<\/p>\n

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\u201cRankBrain is a PR-sexy machine learning ranking component that uses historical search data to predict what would a user most likely click on for a previously unseen query.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

RankBrain allows Google to solve problems it used to run into with traditional algorithms.<\/p>\n

Contrary to popular theories about how RankBrain works, it does not use data gathered from users\u2019 interactions with a web page.<\/p>\n

RankBrain relies more on data gathered from users\u2019 interactions with search results.<\/p>\n

Illyes provides further clarity:<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt is a really cool piece of engineering that saved our butts countless times whenever traditional algos were like, e.g. \u201coh look a \u201cnot\u201d in the query string! let\u2019s ignore the hell out of it!\u201d, but it\u2019s generally just relying on (sometimes) months old data about what happened on the results page itself, not on the landing page.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In short \u2013 RankBrain is a machine learning system that allows Google\u2019s search algorithm to deliver more relevant results.<\/p>\n

This is thought to be accomplished through an improved understanding of ambiguous queries and long-tail keywords<\/a>.<\/p>\n

RankBrain uses data gathered from users\u2019 interactions with search results to predict which pages will likely get clicked on for a brand new search query.<\/p>\n

RankBrain As A Ranking Factor: Our Verdict<\/h2>\n

\"Is<\/p>\n

Google has confirmed that RankBrain is used to rank search results and it is involved in all queries.<\/p>\n

In 2016, Andrey Lipattsev, a Google Search Quality Senior Strategist at Google, said<\/a> RankBrain was one of the three most important ranking signals (along with content<\/a> and links<\/a>).<\/p>\n

RankBrain continues to play an important role in search results today.<\/p>\n

RankBrain differs from traditional ranking factors in that there\u2019s not an obvious way to actively optimize for it.<\/p>\n

How do you optimize for ambiguous keywords or queries that no one\u2019s ever entered into Google before?<\/p>\n

The only option is to provide Google with as much information about a page as possible, which is something site owners should be doing anyway if they\u2019re creating holistic content for users.<\/p>\n

Illyes was asked this question once and replied<\/a> with a similar sentiment:<\/p>\n

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\u201cyou optimize your content for users and thus for RankBrain. That hasn\u2019t changed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Search Engine Journal VIP Contributor Dave Davies provides more advanced tips for communicating information to Google regarding different entities on a page in A Complete Guide to the Google RankBrain Algorithm<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Featured Image: Robin Biong\/Search Engine Journal<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n