07
Oct 26, 2015 · AI
RankBrain Ate My Homework
Industry reaction to machine learning
Machine learning would replace SEO.
Listen to Track 07 · Garage-pop · 1:30
Read the lyrics
[Verse]
I had a sheet of magic words,
Repeated till the page looked blurred.
The heading said it seven times.
I thought that counted as good lines.
Then someone asked a different way,
And found a page with things to say.
I stared at mine till half past four,
Then wrote the keyword twelve times more.
[Chorus]
RankBrain ate my homework!
That’s the story I supplied.
The client read the opening line:
“What’s this supposed to mean?”
I said, “It’s written for machines.”
He said, “Well, that explains the screen.”
[Verse]
We cut the fluff and answered straight,
Put useful things above the fold.
The boss said, “Now I understand.”
I said, “That’s what we should have sold.”
[Final chorus]
RankBrain ate my homework!
Or my homework wasn’t good.
I finally wrote a page for folks
Who lived around the neighborhood.
Coroner’s report
Understanding intent became more important. It did not remove the need for useful, discoverable pages.
The evidence: Google described RankBrain as its third-most important ranking signal.
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