Google RankBrain Algorithm - The Definitive Guide To SEO In 2018

Last year Google announced that RankBrain was their third most important ranking factor:

RankBrain has become the third-most important signal contributing to the result of a search query after the announcement”

And RankBrain is going to become even MORE important in 2018.

So, the question here is....

What is RankBrain, exactly? And how can you optimize for it?

Let me describe it further...

RankBrain is a machine learning system that helps Google sort their search results based on mainly two factors....

That might sound complicated, but it isn’t at all. RankBrain simply measures how users interact with the search results and the landing page the redirect form the SERP.

…and ranks them accordingly.

For example, let’s say you search for “best coffee” in Google.

And the #3 result in the SERP looks especially enticing. So you click on it.

And when you get there…! It’s the best darn article about coffee you’ve ever read and you loved it. So you devour every word.

Here is what RankBrain do

RankBrain takes note…and likely give that #3 result a rankings boost.

Let’s say that you do the same search. But this time, you click on the #1 result without even looking.

But the content is AVERAGE AND YOU DID NOT LIKE IT. So you bounce from the page after a few seconds. And you click on the #3 result to find something about coffee that’s actually worth reading. And you stayed there for some time..reading the content.

RankBrain will notice this too.

So if this is what happens to the #1 result for every click. When people quickly bounce from that result, Google will de-rank it from the #1 spot.

As you can see, RankBrain focuses on two things:

1. How long someone spends on your page (Dwell Time)

2. The percentage of people that click on your result (Click Through Rate)

RankBrain and Dwell Time

Dwell Time is in other words - the time a searcher spends on your page.

As it turns out, RankBrain pays A LOT of attention to Dwell Time.

It is confirmed that Google uses Dwell Time as a ranking signal.

RankBrain and Organic Click Through Rate (CTR)

“RankBrain sometimes ranks pages higher up than they “should” rank.

And if that page gets an above-average CTR, then the page gets a permanent rankings boost.”

And in other way if no one clicks on your result, why would Google keep it on the first page?

And if your site is getting clicked on like there’s no tomorrow, why would Google keep it buried in the #10 spot?