With the evolution of machine-learning approaches, like RankBrain, coupled with the importance of content relevance, old-fashioned SEO tactics have died a sudden death – and traditional ranking factors are following suit. Today’s challenge for every digital marketer is to uncover specific user intent. In this session, you will learn how to meet the needs of your online audience by using data-driven technologies, and create the perfect content for every stage of the customer funnel.

1. Marcus Tober
London, England
17th October, 2016
WHY USER-FOCUSED CONTENT IS
THE DEATH OF RANKING FACTORS

2. • Founder and CTO of Searchmetrics
Marcus Tober
• In love with SEO and SEARCH since 2001
• Study of computer science in Berlin

3. 3
THE FUTURE IS
DATA (SCIENCE)
DRIVEN

4. 4
INTWENTYYEARS,THEREWILL BE NO
VEHICLES DRIVEN BY HUMANS ANYMORE.

5. STATIC FLEXIBLE ADAPTABLE?
THE EVOLUTION OF RANKING FACTORS
In the past In the present In the future

6. Be Formless.
Shapeless.
Like water.
When you put water into a…
Cup,
It becomes
the cup
Bottle,
It becomes
the bottle
Teapot,
It becomes
the teapot

7. Water can flow. Or it can crash.

8. Be water, my friend.

9. Updates/Algorithm Changes
Machine Learning/Rankbrain
Rankings
Search is flexible now
Ranking Factors
Relevance Evaluation
ALGORITHM
Users
integratedintegrated
Real-time
Evaluation
Real-time
Evaluation

10. The Ranking Factors are not rigid anymore, they
adapt to the SEARCH INTENTION.
Just like water that changes it shape when you put it
into a cup, bottle or teapot;
Ranking Factors can and must be
shaped into a specific industry/ user intention.

11. However:
There are still factors that
every industry should follow
in order to have success.
H2O
The Ranking Factors are not
rigid anymore, they are
formless, shapeless and
they adapt to the object.

12. Geoffrey Hinton
a.k.a.
“The Godfather of
Deep Learning”
Leading Researcher, Google

13. Legend in Neural Network
Research. World renowned A.I.
researcher.
Invented some of the core
algorithms of Deep Learning back
in the 80s
Working with Google since 2011
New novel concept:
Thought Vectors
Geoffrey Hinton
Capturing thoughts…

14. IMAGINE EMPTY SPACE

15. Every word gets a position in space
Cologne
Hamburg
Berlin
Munich
Visualizing RankBrain

16. Query sentences get a position in space.
What’s the weather going to be like in Bavaria?
Weather Forecast Bavaria
Visualizing RankBrain

17. Queries and results get a position in space
Q
Result Scoring
R
R
Visualizing RankBrain

18. Machine Learning
(ML) ≠ AI

19. AlgorithmDesire
• Answer to questions
• Best User Experience
• Smooth User Journey
• Crawlability
• Technical requirements
• Evaluation of Relevance
Online-Content
Relevance for Human AND Machine

20. “Knowing is not enough,
we must apply.
Willing is not enough,
we must do!”
Bruce Lee

21. 1.
You are aware you need to create good content, but being
aware is not enough. You have to take action.
2.
And even if you really want to be successful but you don’t apply
the most effort you can, you won’t be successful.
3.
Without a clear knowledge of what to do, action is based on
guesswork. Use the best information/source you can get.

22. 1.
ACTION
2.
EFFORT
3.
DATA

23. BE CREATIVE AND ADDWHAT IS
SPECIFICALLYYOUR OWN.

24. But I still haven‘t found what I‘m looking for!

25. Health E- Commerce Finance
Travel Media
Different Industries, Different Ranking Factors

26. WHY?

27. Because each Industry has to deal with different
Search Intentions.

28. Spender Backpacker Intellectual
User Intention

29. With the evolution of machine-learning approaches,
like RankBrain, coupled with the importance of
content relevance, old-fashioned SEO tactics have
died a sudden death – and traditional ranking
factors are following suit.
Today´s challenge for every digital marketer it is to
uncover specific user intent.

30. Backlinks
In times of self-evolving Machine Learning/Deep Learning algorithms,
backlinks just become one out of many many other factors

31. Spender
Wants best product.
A spender is not worried about money.
His user intention is to find the best
product no matter what the price is.
luxury rolex watch

32. Wants cheapest offer.
A backpacker needs to save every penny,
but at the same time he wants to visit
the coolest possible locations.
Backpacker
cheapest bus ticket

33. Wants valid information.
An intellectual person is hoping to find
the most relevant and valid information
on the web.
Intellectual
Plato´s allegory of the cave

34. Search Query & Expectations
Example: „costume ideas“
???

35. http://www.today.com/style/61-awesome-
halloween-costume-ideas-its-not-too-late-
steal-t2741
Rank #1
60+ part image gallery
Short description
Links to relevant pages
High Social Engagement
User Intention = Inspiration!
✓
✓
✓
✓
Search Query & Expectations
Example: „costume ideas“

36. https://www.savers.com/halloween/costumes/all
Rank #16
14 costume suggestions
No product texts
General footer text
User Intention ≠ Shopping!
✗
✗
✗
Search Query & Expectations
Example: „costume ideas“

37. Introducing NEW RANKING FACTORS 2016 –
SEARCHMETRICS
coming in November…
Google.com

38. *NEW RANKING FACTORS 2016
10x more complex
Industry
Topic/
Search Intention
Topic A
Topic B
Topic C
Topic D
Topic E
Health Finance eCommerce Media Etc.
You?

39. Generally, well ranking pages have longer texts.
So there is a correlation…
BUT
For some searches, results with shorter text
are the best result for the user experiece.
What does that mean for Ranking Factors?
Content need to be different
depending on User Intention

40. 500
1.000
1.500
2.000
2.500
3.000
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Desktop 2016 Desktop 2015
Ø Top10 2016: 1,633
2015 : 1,285
𝜌2015 = 0.07
𝜌2016 = 0.05
+21%
Word Count
Google.com

41. If someone searches for: best short hairstyles
What they probably want to see is less text are more images
or image galleries

42. If someone searches for: Plato´s allegory of the cave
What they probably want to see is valid and structured info
and more text

43. If someone searches for: x-box unboxing
What they probably want to see is a video and no text

44. Different Industries
Different Ranking Factors Google.com
Health E- Commerce Finance

45. 1.000
1.500
2.000
2.500
3.000
3.500
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Finance
Word Count
Google.com
T10 Ø: 1575
Correlation: 0.09

46. 1.000
1.500
2.000
2.500
3.000
3.500
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
eCommerce Health Finance
Word Count
Google.com
T10 Ø: 3069 2826 1575
Correlation: 0.13 0.15 0.09

47. 1.000
1.500
2.000
2.500
3.000
3.500
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
eCommerce Health Finance Desktop 2016
Word Count
Google.com
T10 Ø: 3069 2826 1575 1633
Correlation: 0.13 0.15 0.09 0.05
Ø

48. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
eCommerce Health
Keyword in Title
Google.com
T10 Ø: 33% 35%
Correlation: -0.04 -0.05

49. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
eCommerce Health Finance
Keyword in Title
Google.com
T10 Ø: 33% 35% 10%
Correlation: -0.04 -0.05 0.04

50. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
eCommerce Health Finance Desktop 2016
Keyword in Title
Google.com
T10 Ø: 33% 35% 10% 54%
Correlation: -0.04 -0.05 0.04 -0.04
Ø

51. 0
50.000
100.000
150.000
200.000
250.000
300.000
350.000
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29
eCommerce
Referring Domains
Google.com
T10 Ø: 272736
Correlation: 0.20

52. 0
50.000
100.000
150.000
200.000
250.000
300.000
350.000
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29
eCommerce Health
Referring Domains
Google.com
T10 Ø: 272736 99526
Correlation: 0.20 0.02

53. 0
50.000
100.000
150.000
200.000
250.000
300.000
350.000
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29
eCommerce Health Finance
Referring Domains
Google.com
T10 Ø: 272736 99526 38728
Correlation: 0.20 0.21 -0.02

54. SO…

55. SEO tactics have died and Traditional Ranking Factors are fading away
However…
Traditional Ranking Factors

56. Why SEO is not dead
Startpoint of Purchases
Source: Forrester/ Internet Retailer B2B Buying And Selling Online Survey 2014
92%
of Business Purchases
start with Search
81%
of Shoppers Research
Online before buying
Source: Adweek/ +GE Capital Retail Bank’s Major Purchase Shopper Study 2015
B2B B2C

57. Good site architecture
Relevant link structure
Basic tag usage and structure
Page Load Time
Basic technics features are still important

58. 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Desktop 2016 Mobile 2016
Ø Top10 Desktop: 126
Ø Top10 Mobile : 71
Interal Link Count
Google.com

59. 6
7
8
9
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Desktop 2016 Mobile 2016
Ø Top10 Desktop: 7.84 sec
Ø Top10 Mobile : 6.98 sec
Page load time
Seconds Google.com

60. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Desktop 2016 Mobile 2016
Ø Top10 Desktop: 85%
Ø Top10 Mobile : 75%
Page has H1
Google.com

61. HOW TO STAY RELEVANT?

62. The user needs to feel happy with the result.
User Experience
But businesses often fail in providing the right content
for the respective user intention
?

63. 0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Desktop 2016
Click-Through Rate
Google.com
𝜌 = 0.46

64. 0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Desktop 2016
Time on Site
Seconds
𝜌 = 0.11

65. Structured Content.
• Paragraphs
• Numbered Lists
• Bullet Points
• Readable
• Consumeable

66. 20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
55%
60%
65%
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Desktop 2016 Desktop 2015
Ø Top10 2016: 50%
2015 : 43%
+7%
Page has Bullet Point List
Google.com

67. Feel safe, use HTTPS.
Whether you're booking tickets,
buying clothes or purchasing items
from an auction site, shop safely and
securely online using HTTPS.

68. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Desktop 2016 Desktop 2015
Ø Top10 2016: 45%
2015 : 14%+31%
HTTPS
Google.com
𝜌 = 0.19

69. There are still factors that every industry should follow in order to
have success. And these are specific for each industry.
But today that is not enough. Thanks to new algorithms, combined
with machine learning and its capacity to analyze websites,
content became a key for success.
The quality, relevance and uniqueness of your content is
understood and judged by Google, who in case of finding it
relevant will benefit you with better results.

70. Content Structure
Content-Relevance
can be analyzed by structure
AND
It actually has the
highest impact on rankings

71. Landing Page
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XKEYWORDXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXKEYWORDX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Image
Image
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XKEYWORDXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXKEYWORDX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XKEYWORDXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXKEYWORDXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
search query
Relevance of content without keywords to search query
Remove keywords from text
search query = keyword
Content Relevance
NEW Factor 2016 Google.com

72. 0,10
0,11
0,12
0,13
0,14
0,15
0,16
0,17
0,18
0,19
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Desktop 2016
Content Relevance
NEW Factor 2016 Google.com
𝜌 𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑘𝑡𝑜𝑝 = 0.04

74. security camera systems
10 out of top 10
e-commerce websites for this
keyword have an
„add to cart“ function
above the fold
Keyword: “security camera systems”
E-COMM Introducing Relevance

75. security systemssecurity camera systems
10x ShoppingCart
Keyword: “security camera systems”
E-COMM
3x ShoppingCart
+
Google Shopping Integration
4x Vendor
3x Information
(Blog, Reviews etc.)
+
Google News Integration
Transactional Informational
Introducing Relevance

76. Topic ExplorerTOPIC:
„security system“

77. Topic Explorer
„security system“
YELLOW
„[…]camera system“
BLUE
TOPIC:
„security system“
Search Intention

78. Related QuestionsTOPIC:
„security system“

79. Relevant Terms and PhrasesTOPIC:
„security system“

80. Content Live EditorTOPIC:
„security system“

83. Searchmetrics Content Experience Suite
1.
2.
3.

84. “Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless,
and add what is specific your own”
Bruce Lee
Quality, Relevance and Uniqueness of Content

85. Be water, my friend.