[Learn More:]<\/strong> The Complete Guide To Google Ranking Factors<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n RankBrain is a technology that seems to impact how Google returns search results.<\/p>\n Due to its association with search, many people consider RankBrain a ranking factor.<\/p>\n 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 The following section goes over what Google designed RankBrain to do and how it assists with answering queries.<\/p>\n RankBrain is an artificial intelligence (AI) system introduced in 2015 to help Google return results for queries without previous search data.<\/p>\n That changed sometime between the spring of 2015 and 2016. Google announced an update to RankBrain, which integrated AI into all queries.<\/p>\n Wired revealed this information in an article that notes Google isn\u2019t clear on how RankBrain improves all queries, but it does affect rankings.<\/p>\n From Wired<\/a>:<\/p>\n \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 \u2018involved in every query,\u2019 and affects the actual rankings \u2018probably not in every query but in a lot of queries.\u2019\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>, the algorithm makes educated guesses at what a user would likely click on for a never-before-seen query.<\/p>\n \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 webpage.<\/p>\n RankBrain relies more on data gathered from users\u2019 interactions with search results.<\/p>\n Illyes provides further clarity:<\/p>\n \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 RankBrain accomplishes this 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 In addition to returning results for ambiguous and never-before-seen queries, RankBrain is capable of connecting words to concepts.<\/p>\n Pandu Nayak, Google\u2019s Vice President of Search, explains how this works<\/a> with an example of a query that contains the phrase \u201cfood chain.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFood chain\u201d can refer to organisms in an ecosystem (literal meaning), or it can refer to a hierarchy of people (figurative meaning).<\/p>\n As Nayak states, RankBrain helps Google determine the intended meaning of words based on how a searcher uses them in a query:<\/p>\n \u201cFor example, if you search for \u2018what\u2019s the title of the consumer at the highest level of a food chain,\u2019 our systems learn from seeing those words on various pages that the concept of a food chain may have to do with animals, and not human consumers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n By understanding and matching these words to their related concepts, RankBrain understands that you\u2019re looking for what\u2019s commonly referred to as an \u201capex predator.\u201d<\/p>\n Thanks to this understanding, Nayak confirms, RankBrain can decide the best order for top search results by ranking them according to relevance.<\/p>\n [Ebook Download:]<\/strong> Ranking Factors: Fact Or Fiction 2nd Edition<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Google has confirmed that RankBrain is used to rank search results and is involved in all queries.<\/p>\n In 2016, Andrey Lipattsev, a Google Search Quality Senior Strategist, 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 essential 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?<\/p>\n The only option is to provide Google with as much information about a page as possible, which site owners should do anyway if they create holistic content for users.<\/p>\n Illyes was asked this question once and replied<\/a> with a similar sentiment:<\/p>\n \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 Featured Image: Paulo Bobita\/Search Engine Journal<\/em><\/p>\nThe Claim: RankBrain As A Ranking Factor<\/h2>\n
The Evidence: Is RankBrain A Ranking Factor?<\/h2>\n
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Practical Example From Google\u2019s Vice President of Search<\/h3>\n
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Our Verdict: RankBrain Is A Confirmed Ranking Factor<\/h2>\n
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