The machines are coming! RankBrain is an AI Google uses to serve better search results based on search intent. How is AI going to change SEO as we know it, and what can marketers do to stay ahead?

1. H O W I S A I
G O I N G
T O
I M PA C T
S E O ?

2. C H A R L O T T E H A N
@ S U N S I R E N
D I G I TA L A N A LY S T @ S A P
1 0 + Y E A R S I N M A R K E T I N G
7 + Y E A R S I N S I L I C O N VA L L E Y
W E B A N A LY T I C S
S O C I A L M E D I A I N T E L L I G E N C E
D I G I TA L C H A N N E L O P T I M I Z AT I O N
S E O / S E M
C O N T E N T S T R AT E G Y
C O N T E N T M A R K E T I N G

3. SEARCH LANDSCAPE IS CHANGING
V O I C E
S E A R C H
T E X T
S E A R C H C H AT B O T

4. W H AT I S A I
Source: https://
www.thedisruptory.co
m/wp-content/
uploads/2016/02/
Strong-Weak-AI-
scheme-
v2-1024x795.png

7. W H AT I S M A C H I N E L E A R N I N G

8. M I C R O S O F T I S S O S M A R T : )

9. W H AT W E A R E
A F R A I D O F

11. !!!

12. 85%
15%
Humans
write the
rules
*RB• Google’s machine
learning AI system
• Teaches itself to
learns patterns and
classifications
• Every query has a
different algorithm
• Part of Hummingbird
W H AT I S R A N K B R A I N
*2015 data: 15% of 1.2 trillion searches a year
2016 data: 2 trillion searches a year

13. H O W I S R A N K B R A I N T R A I N E D
Training Data
(e.g. “Good” vs.
“Bad” websites in
each category/
domain; quality
raters)
Learning Process
(Unsupervised)
Best Algorithm

14. R A N K B R A I N H E L P S G O O G L E
U N D E R S TA N D Q U E R I E S B E T T E R

15. W H AT D O E S R A N K B R A I N D O ?
Source: Moz

16. So… can you “optimize for RankBrain”?
Not really. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

17. Dear God,
please rank my
site on page 1.
Amen.

18. C L A S S I C S E O
P R I N C I P L E S
W I L L L I V E .

19. W H I C H M E A N S T H I S
O N PA G E S E O O F F PA G E S E O
• Site performance
• Domain and URL
• Title tag
• H1, H2 tags
• Meta keyword
• Meta description
• Unique content
• Alt attribute for image
• Site map
• Directory submission
• Social bookmarking
• Blog commenting
• Forum postings
• Article submissions
• PR submissions
• Local business listings
• Search engine submissions
• Social networking

20. – S O M E G U Y I N T H E I N F O M E R C I A L
“But wait! There’s more!”

21. R E M E M B E R T H I S ?
Learning Process
(Unsupervised)
Best Algorithm
Clue #1: Try
to be like the
“good” site!
Training Data
(e.g. “Good” vs.
“Bad” websites in
each category/
domain; quality
raters)

22. B A C K L I N K S
…need to be relevant, from websites in the same/related
categories or industries.
If you have an auto site and you have links from shoe
websites, Rankbrain won’t like that.

23. R E M E M B E R T H I S ?
Learning Process
(Unsupervised)
Best Algorithm
Clue #2: Stay
in niche to avoid
competition
Training Data
(e.g. “Good” vs.
“Bad” websites in
each category/
domain; quality
raters)

24. S TAY I N N I C H E
Google compares your site to the good and bad in the
same category or industry.
If your site looks like the “good” site you rank higher.
You could be misclassified if you have too many
categories on your site and you are new & w/o authority.
Staying in niche avoids competition.

25. RANKBRAIN REWEIGHS SEO SIGNALS
Content, context and relevance have to come together
SEO
VISIBILITY
(Quality)
Content
ContextRelevance

26. WHY CONTEXT AND INTENT MATTER
Example
“Get out of here!” “GET OUT OF HERE!”vs.

27. A U D I E N C E
R E S E A R C H
H O W T O F I N D S E A R C H I N T E N T ?

28. W H AT D O E S Y O U R A U D I E N C E WA N T ?
H I N T: N O T K E Y W O R D S
PA I N G O A L H E L P
What keeps them
awake at night?
What’s their
biggest problem?
What’s their goal?
What do they
really want?
What is their dream?
How can you help
solve their problem?
How can you make
their job easier?
How can you help?
What’s their
pain point?

29. F R E E A U D I E N C E R E S E A R C H T O O L - 1
G O O G L E T R E N D S - W H AT ’ S T R E N D I N G O V E R T I M E
Check if a term is trending
Compare it with other
terms
Filter by regions
Related terms

30. F R E E A U D I E N C E R E S E A R C H T O O L - 2
B U Z Z S U M O
Find most popular content
on social media
Find authors and influencers
to follow
Filter results by time frame,
article, infographic…, etc.
http://buzzsumo.com/

31. F R E E A U D I E N C E R E S E A R C H T O O L - 3
Q U O R A ( G U T E F R A G E )
Q&A Site
Identify popular questions & answers
Validate your content ideas
Ask questions and interact with the
community
https://www.quora.com/

32. F R E E A U D I E N C E R E S E A R C H T O O L - 4
R E D D I T
Q&A Site
Identify popular questions & answers
Validate your content ideas
Ask questions and interact with the
community
https://www.reddit.com

33. F R E E A U D I E N C E R E S E A R C H T O O L - 5
FA Q F O X
Find questions
your target
audience
is asking online.
http://www.webpagefx.com/seo-tools/faqfox/

34. SET GOAL.
MAKE PLAN.
GET TO WORK.
STICK TO IT.
REACH GOAL. C H A R L O T T E H A N | @ S U N S I R E N