The Hummingbird Algorithm

RankBrain is the program that forms part of the Hummingbird algorithm Google uses to sort through billions of search result pages in order to determine which search results are most relevant to specific requests. It forms the latest component of Google's Hummingbird search algorithm, which drives the overall system.The Hummingbird algorithm is composed of numerous components, including Penguin, Payday, and Panda, which fights spam. Pigeon is a component which enhances local results, while Top Heavy downgrades web pages stuffed with ads.

Another crucial component to pay attention to is Mobile Friendly, which rewards pages for publishing mobile-friendly content. Pirate battles copyright infringements,
RankBrain harnesses artificial intelligence to implant words into numerical entities in order to make them more understandable to computers. Any words or phrases unfamiliar to RankBrain will be converted into words and phrases with similar meanings for filtered results. This increases Google's accuracy and efficiency when tackling new search queries.

Google determines web page rankings with the help of elements called 'Signals'. Content read on a web page is regarded as a signal. Keywords highlighted in bold font will be treated as another signal for the purposes of determining web page rankings.

These calculations contribute to the overall PageRank score, which is then interpreted as a signal. In the same manner, if a web page has been evaluated as mobile-friendly, this is then registered as a signal with Google. Every signal is processed by the various components of the Hummingbird algorithm, which then determines which pages Google highlights in response to particular queries.

Google has been quite open about acknowledging the presence of over 200 major signals for ranking. These signals themselves may have up to 10,000 smaller sub-signals or variations. Despite the short time, it's been around, RankBrain is now considered Google's third most important factor in the search rankings.

RankBrain is just one of numerous signals in Google's search page algorithm. The question on everyone's lips is which considerations are first and second in importance when it comes to determining search rankings. Thus far, Google has been reticent about them, so experts are forced to rely on intelligent guesswork.

While knowing which factors are most important is certainly useful, how they work is a mystery until Google actually explains them. For now, links remain a firm favorite, and that doesn't look set to change until Google confirms their most important signals, if ever. The second most important signal is widely considered to be 'words', although this term can be unhelpfully vague as it actually includes everything from Google's textual interpretation to the actual words that appear on a page.

....More to come as I have time to write.