Google's new AI SEO algorithm 'RankBrain' will help nudge Steemit into the mainstream. Here's why...
Let me explain to you why this next Google move is such an important SEO move, especially for 'Steemit-like' content.
In recent years, Google's SEO algorithms have primarily revolved around the ability to recognize content which includes keywords from a search query embedded inside it. A user, searching for particular content, would type a couple of keywords into the search bar, and the algorithm would return results based purely on those keywords. If the content that the Google algorithm 'Hummingbird' comes across includes those keywords, it is returned as a suggested result by the algorithm. Great!
However, the content surrounding those keywords, in other words, the real human meaning behind the content was always lost to the SEO algorithm. It only knew that there were a couple of well placed keywords here and there within the article. It didn't really understand the entire 'conversation' that was going on - so to speak. It doesn't understand how a human would actually interpret the content. Silly sausage.
Keyword based search is about to become (almost) history, with Googles new RankBrain SEO algorithm.
-- Obligatory pattern interrupt
source
Here's why...
RankBrain is a machine learning artificial intelligence system, for search queries, the use of which by Google was confirmed on 26 October 2015. This is AI, for search queries.
RankBrain churns away, indexing all types of content on the web, social media, twitter, etc and so-forth. It ties together all of the words and works very hard at trying to think how a human thinks.
This new, artificial intelligence system can actually learn how a human would search, and, understand the full content of an article, and the real meaning of the content to a human, as opposed to only knowing there are few keywords here and there. Rankbrain looks for patterns between searches that may seem unconnected at first, but in fact are similar and fit together.
If you only read one thing on this page, you need to read this quote...
It’s a funny and probably overblown passage, but it raises a serious point for content marketers; in the past, they’ve had to write around keywords, often at the expense of creating content and telling stories people want to read. The introduction of Google’s Rankbrain could put an end to all this, once and for all.
--source
Google's RankBrain SEO algorithm is a perfect match for Steemit.
Why?
Because at Steemit, the type of articles we are writing (or I believe we should be writing), are articles that people want to actually read. The articles here are not peppered with keywords, for the sake of click-bait results to be returned on Google search results. People here on Steemit like to tell a story, a human story.
Most of the articles here are in-depth, with real human emotion and meaning behind them, and the only way to really understand the content of each article, is to understand the entire 'conversation'. In other words, you need a search engine that can understand the relationship and meaning of the words in the content that surround the original search queries.
-- Another (nice) obligatory pattern interrupt
source
Googles RankBrain, will be rewarding content that is written for humans.
This signals the end the era of blogging specifically for the sake of keywords (yes please!), in other words, and end to all those blogs that have great content, but are also devoid of any real value due to the fact that they are so full of keywords in an attempt to fool Googles SEO algorithm, wherein all meaning is lost.
Articles, here on Steemit generally will not meet standard keyword requirements, and guess what? It may be hard to find that content with the current Hummingbird algorithm which Google has been working on since 2013 (definitely an improvement with its contextualized search beahviours) but still relies so heavily on understanding keywords. That situation, is not a good situation for Steemit, I believe.
Don't get me wrong, with RankBrain , keywords will still be really important, but with RankBrain , we also get the added feature of the algorithm understanding more clearly the true intent of our search queries, for example, it may even return results with content that does not include the original search queries keywords, but from a human perspective, the result returned would in fact be a lot more relevant, because the algorithm will understand the relationships and meanings between the other words on the page.
In doing so, this means the new RankBrain SEO algorithm by Google will return content that is much more meaningful to the human being on the other end that is doing the searching.
The timing of Google's new AI SEO algorithm could not be better for Steemit
Currently, a very large fraction of the millions of queries Google deals with every second are being ranked using this new system. Out of the hundreds of signals Google uses to rank results, the RankBrain algorithm is the 3rd most important.
The ability for a search engine to be able to understand, in human terms, the real meaning of content on a page, will absolutely bring benefit to Steemit and the way our content here is indexed and returned by Google as a suggested search result. It also means, we can stop being focused on keywords, and write articles people actually want to read, all the while being confident that our content will be picked up by Google queries appropriately.
All in all, RankBrain signifies more eyes on Steemit content, (content written for humans, that only humans can really understand), with an added bonus... an end to all those dead end blogs which feature keyword rich content with little substance, and that my friend, I am all for.
Kind regards,
Optimistic