Starting in early 2015, Google began using something known as RankBrain to help analyze and interpret searches in order to provide a better search engine experience to its users. Since then, there’s been a bit of confusion about what exactly RankBrain is, and how it’s going to affect businesses. So let’s start dispelling some rumors and figure out how this affects you.

What is RankBrain?

RankBrain is a machine-learning artificial intelligence system. The system is designed to learn from historical searches so that it can process results. Essentially, Google’s engineers feed historical search data into RankBrain, and it uses those searches to teach itself how to better process future searches. Note that it is not the sole decider of how to rank search results, but rather part of a larger algorithm, known as Hummingbird. RankBrain is only the third most important aspect of the algorithm. RankBrain is just a cog in the machine.

How RankBrain Functions

Here’s where things get interesting. In the early days of search engines, when someone typed a particular phrase, only websites with that keyword string would appear in the results. This lead to practices such as keyword stuffing, where websites would try to force as many keyword strings as possible onto their webpage, because that was the only way they could appear in the search engine. As time went on, search engines became more advanced. RankBrain is another part of that evolution.

RankBrain, for all intents and purposes, is an interpreter. When you type a string of words into Google, RankBrain is responsible for using context to interpret those words and find matches that might not be an exact match, but would contain relevant information. This allows Google to provide better results, particularly for long tail queries, as RankBrain is able to see patterns in complex searches.

While Google’s search engine was able to understand context before, RankBrain takes it to the next level. Here’s a basic example – if you type the word “bills,” you could be referring to paper bills that you have to pay, the NFL team the Buffalo Bills, or even “bullet bills” from Super Mario. With RankBrain, Google’s search engine is capable of pulling context from the rest of your search to interpret what type of bills you want to know about, and providing search results accordingly.

What This Means for Business Owners and Marketers

Standard best practices still apply – you do still need to consider keywords and you need to continue providing quality content. If you’re providing high quality content, RankBrain is likely a boon for you – as it will direct traffic your way even if your website is a little weak in the keyword department. Now, more than ever, the emphasis will be on high quality content that features contextual clues.

Author Bio

Vincent DeCastro has over 12 years of SEO & PPC experience with expertise in helping small businesses improve visibility online. Vincent has been a Senior SEO Analyst with SEO My Business for 4 years.