While many might not consider artificial intelligence of any consequence with regard to SEO, it does seem to appear as if it does. While most may think of robots when AI is mentioned, there is something far more intricate to your SEO efforts than simply a robot. A couple of years ago, the search god Google unveiled an AI algorithm they named RankBrain. Since it introduction in 2015, RankBrain has become the third most vital ranking system that Google uses in a SERP. Only content and links are held in higher esteem. So, how is this AI actually affecting your current and future SEO marketing?
- While little used at first, RankBrain is now involved in most every live search being done at Google. Basically, RankBrain is there to turn up as logical a choice of results as the search engine can even if the search algorithms aren’t really certain as to what the searcher had been asking for.
- The assumption must now be made that RankBrain can see and read everything. While many SEO tactics were preventing the bots and spiders from reading a page, RankBrain has made this much easier for the Google search engine to do. While machine learning is not generally something a small business owner and entrepreneur has the time to digest, it does affect your SEO and social media marketing strategies over the long term.
- So, right now, Google’s search engine can see, hear and measure pretty much everything. Measuring everything means that Google can know how long someone has stayed at your site, how many pages they visited and even if they have returned from a previous visit. The data output has simply become enormous.
- Another innovation with AI is that it is now far more able to see images than it used to be. Rather than using stock images, try and create unique images to display. While it reads your stock photos just fine now, it also takes into consideration when creating a final SERP, that the image has also been used at many other websites. Google prizes original content and images higher than content and images that have been published elsewhere.
- Ranking higher in a Google SERP means you really need to be active out at YouTube. The reason for this is not only the huge presence that video has as viewed content but because YouTube captions your videos which means there is more written content for RankBrain to see, read and rank. Since YouTube is owned by Google, it makes sense that it is looked at with regard to a SERP. The more active you are, the higher you will likely rank. You must do everything you can to prove to the AI algorithms that your content, and your company, truly is unique from any other.
-Written by Kevin Sawyer
