More than 86% of online searches happen on Google. As marketers, we know firsthand how important Google is to business outcomes. It informs nearly all aspects of enterprise-level marketing strategies, from the architecture of our websites and the structure of our web pages to the content we produce and the ways we distribute it. All of our tactics are continuously focused on the same goal: To find our way to page one of Google search results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, as Google\u2019s Head of Search Prabhakar Raghavan said during the company\u2019s recent SearchOn event<\/strong><\/a>, \u201cThere\u2019s never been more choice and competition in the ways people access information.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Raghavan was referring to more than just Google search result pages, referencing all the ways people find what they want online using social platforms like Twitter and Pinterest, Amazon\u2019s marketplace and more. Yet, the reality for enterprise organizations is that there\u2019s never been more businesses striving to\u00a0rank higher on Google\u00a0\u2014 all competing to win a position at the top of Google\u2019s search results pages.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because the competition is growing exponentially, marketers need to know more than a basic understanding of\u00a0Google\u2019s search algorithm.\u00a0It\u2019s imperative that we stay ahead of the curve on all things search related so that our enterprise SEO and search marketing efforts are aligned with the flurry of technological advances happening nearly daily on the world\u2019s most popular search platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n October 2019 marked a big month for Google. The company confirmed several major updates attached to its artificial intelligence capabilities, underscoring how its search algorithm is getting smarter and much deeper into natural language processing systems. Here\u2019s everything you should know: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Before we get into Google\u2019s latest updates, it\u2019s helpful to have a historical perspective of what has happened up to this point. Google is constantly tweaking its algorithm to create seamless search experiences for users. The major updates during the past decade have revolved around resolving specific issues and improving existing capabilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, going back to 2011, the Panda update was aimed at excluding poor quality sites from search results, while the 2012 Penguin update was focused on removing spammy sites. In 2013 Google announced its Hummingbird search algorithm, designed to produce more precise answers at a faster speed. Things got super interesting in 2015 when Google launched RankBrain, the machine learning system that enables Google to process search queries based on intent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Search Engine Journal called it, \u201cA revolution in how search results are determined.\u201d1<\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n RankBrain embedded Google\u2019s AI technology more deeply into its search algorithm. In a Bloomberg report from October, 2015, Google confirmed RankBrain had become the third-most important search query signal since its deployment2<\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you look back at all these updates, you can see the pattern over the past 20-years,\u201d writes Barry Schwartz, a leading search expert and Search Engine Land contributing editor. According to Schwartz, Google has continually worked to build algorithms that better understand content and signals in faster and smarter ways3<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With it\u2019s most recent updates and the full roll-out of BERT \u2014 Google\u2019s natural language processing system \u2014 Google is only getting smarter, following its pattern to improve the search experience across all platforms and devices. <\/p>\n\n\n\nStaying Ahead of the Curve to Win the Enterprise SEO Game <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A quick recap of Google search updates <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The BERT update: How Google is getting smarter and more efficient at ranking content<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n