Digital Marketing - Study Notes:
What is a search engine algorithm?
Let’s begin by looking at what we mean by a search engine algorithm. In Google’s words, an algorithm is a computer program that looks for clues to help give the searcher back exactly what they want. This means that search engine algorithms are looking at thousands, millions, and sometimes billions of results to identify the most useful results for the user.
Google makes thousands of changes to its algorithms every year. Most of these are relatively minor updates. Some of the more significant changes are captured on this chart.
Hummingbird
Google rolled out a major update - the Hummingbird algorithm - in 2013. Hummingbird is Google’s main algorithm. It sorts through all the pages on the web and returns what it believes to be the best answer for a searcher’s query. It consists of many sub-algorithms to help support its role of returning relevant results.
Sub-algorithms
PageRank is one of the first sub-algorithms Google deployed and focuses on how reputable a page is. So, if one-page links to another page, it will pass some reputation – and we call that PageRank.
Other sub-algorithms include Panda, which assesses content quality, Penguin, which focuses on the quality of a website’s backlinks, Venice, which changes the way that maps are integrated into search results, and Fred, which targets low-quality content and unapproved SEO practices.
Artificial intelligence
However, since 2015, Google has focused on improving its algorithms through artificial intelligence, or AI, and enhanced mobile usability. These include 2015’s RankBrain, which was Google’s first AI sub-algorithm, and was created to provide better search results for long-tail keywords. BERT followed in 2019. This is another AI sub-algorithm and was the biggest update to Google’s algorithm since RankBrain itself. BERT represents a major leap forward in Google’s understanding of the natural language we use when searching.
MUM, announced in 2021 and believed to be BERT’s successor, is 1,000 times more powerful than BERT. In the future, MUM promises Googlers will need to conduct fewer searches and spend less time researching complex tasks which, on average, now require eight different keywords to find a satisfying answer.
Ranking factors
Mobile Speed
Mobile is of course a big area for search, and Mobile Speed became a ranking factor in 2018. Mobile-First Indexing was fully rolled out for most websites in 2021, so now, instead of two indexes – that is, mobile and desktop – Google uses just a mobile index.
This means that if your website isn’t mobile-friendly, it affects both whether the page will be indexed and how well it will be ranked on both mobile and desktop results on Google.
Page Experience
Finally, Google’s Page Experience Update was introduced in 2021. Page Experience is a ranking factor with a large focus on rewarding websites that load quickly from a mobile device. It is believed to be a small ranking factor for now, and just one of over 200 ranking factors in total. But keep in mind that this may increase in the future.
The next topic contains a handy infographic that summarizes the various updates, algorithms, and ranking systems we’ve just discussed.
Back to TopClark Boyd
Clark Boyd is CEO and founder of marketing simulations company Novela. He is also a digital strategy consultant, author, and trainer. Over the last 12 years, he has devised and implemented international marketing strategies for brands including American Express, Adidas, and General Motors.
Today, Clark works with business schools at the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, and Columbia University to design and deliver their executive-education courses on data analytics and digital marketing.
Clark is a certified Google trainer and runs Google workshops across Europe and the Middle East. This year, he has delivered keynote speeches at leadership events in Latin America, Europe, and the US. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and Slideshare. He writes regularly on Medium and you can subscribe to his email newsletter, hi, tech.
Neil Patel
Neil Patel is the co-founder of NP Digital. The Wall Street Journal calls him a top influencer on the web, Forbes says he is one of the top 10 marketers, and Entrepreneur Magazine says he created one of the 100 most brilliant companies. Neil is a New York Times bestselling author and was recognized as a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 30 by President Obama and a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 35 by the United Nations.
Nikki Lam
Nikki Lam is Senior Director of SEO at Neil Patel Digital, where she oversees the Organic Search offering, leads a growing team of over 20 passionate Search strategists, and assists in award-winning SEO campaigns for NP’s growing roster of enterprise and Fortune 1000 clients.
Joe Williams
Joe Williams teaches search engine optimization at Joe Wills. He holds a degree in Computing Informatics, and he’s been an SEO specialist for over 15 years. He’s consulted and trained many large blue-chip companies including The Guardian, Cosmopolitan, and Sky. He's on a mission to make SEO easy, fun, and profitable. You can catch him on X and LinkedIn.
