So, Google Rank Brain - no, it’s not a long-forgotten Peter Jackson B Movie, but rather a massive update by Google, way back in 2015, that kind of flew under the radar of anyone outside of the SEO world. Google was now using AI for its search results. They also announced that this was going to be the biggest factor out of three changes for SEO. The other two being links and content - and we all know about those.

So, what is Rank Brain, and how does it affect SEO?

Rank Brain fills the gap that was lacking in Google’s search algorithm. Google receives about 3 billion search queries a day, and about 15% of those are new search terms, never used before. So how does Google figure out what searchers want? That’s where Rank Brain comes in.

Suppose you saw a film and wanted to know the name of a song in it, but didn’t know the artist or song title. Your search query could be: ‘the song from frozen’. Google then shows you results from Frozen (and it can tell the difference between frozen water and a film title) to give you a more exact result. Pretty cool. So what does this mean to you and your SEO?

I’ll outline this below.

• Optimise for medium-sized keywords. for example, SEO consultant Devon, and Consultant in Devon for SEO - Google recognises these as the same thing. This also helps you create better quality content as it’s not just about short keywords anymore.

• Create content that users want. Using medium and long-tailed keywords, helps you pinpoint exactly what searchers are looking for - and you want them to find you. Take the time to research these, and add them to your page content and blog posts.

• Increase your click-through rate. We already know that bounce rate is bad news for your site, and we want to get those click-throughs up. Creating content that users are searching for, helps your click-through rate. Happy users = happy Google = happy you.

• Improve dwell time. You want to keep users hooked on your website, you want them to explore, read, share and purchase. By creating relevant content, you are more likely to hold onto users. Make sure your site has internal links, and keep moving users forwards to the end goal.

• Relative content. Don’t just concentrate on your immediate service. Expand into it as a whole. If you are a food catering company, don’t just write about your services. You can cover nutrition, sourcing ingredients and recipes to try at home. Expanding your content keeps your site relevant to Google, and increases your chances of being shared.

If you need help optimising medium and long-tailed keywords, then get in touch - I’m happy to help.

Thanks to Jesse Martini on Unsplash for the image.