Digitization has revolutionized the way how the business performs their operations. Businesses are constantly trying to maximize their outreach among masses. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) helps in improving the organic traffic of the websites. SEO techniques improve the ranking of the websites.

Machine Learning: Machine Learning is the sub-branch of artificial intelligence. Machine Learning helps in making more intelligent machine by training them with a huge amount of datasets. These machine can perform tasks autonomously without much human intervention. These machines have the ability to learn from past experience and that too without being explicitly programmed.

Why is SEO important?

SEO is a technique to improve the quality and quantity of organic traffic over the website. This also helps in improving the ranking of the website on the search engine result page (SERP). SEO helps in driving more traffic towards the website hence improving the sales of the website.

Search Engines like Google are using machine learning algorithms to improve the SEO techniques. Recent updates in various search engine algorithms like RankBrain, HummingBird and many more are using Machine Learning applications to understand the intent behind the search better and discourage various Black Hat techniques.

Let us now have a look at how machine learning is playing an important role in SEO.

#1. Ranking Factor: There are billion of websites over the internet. Search engines like Google have to rank these websites by understanding the intent of the user’s search. The intent behind the search is more important than the keyword itself. Earlier, this was not the case. If you were including keywords in your content, you were easily able to rank your website on the first page. However, with the introduction of machine learning in search engine algorithms, keywords takes the back seat. Some of the top results in the searches are not even using the keywords in their content.

According to Google, RankBrain is the third most important ranking factor in SERP. SEO optimization should be done keeping in mind the search engine algorithms to get better rank.

#2. Content marketing: In any SEO technique, content is the key. Google has ranked content to be the number one ranking factor. Such is the importance of good content. Machine learning applications in search engine algorithms can understand the context of the content. The good, relevant and fresh content is ranked high in the search result pages. A good content always attracts more readers and Google is intelligent enough to understand that you are providing good quality content. Google then ranks you higher up on the search pages. Machine learning algorithms have given the ability to differentiate between good and bad quality content to the search engines. This also helps in improving the user experience as most relevant results are shown on the very first page.

#3. Improving the User Experience: Gone are the days when you can get high rankings just by using the keywords in your content. Machine learning algorithms have made search engines intelligent enough to determine your ranking on whole lot of other parameters also. These parameters are based on providing the better user experience. Recent updates in SERP has included load time of the websites, relevant and quality content, time user spends on your website and many other parameters as ranking factors. These are directly related to the better user experience.

#4. Voice Searches: In the upcoming years, voice searches will completely overshadow the text-based searches. Machine Learning Algorithms are helping the search engines to understand the user query better. It also means that the content should be designed in a more conversational form. The content should match our day to day conversation and should be natural. The content should not be built for machines but for the humans.

#5. Customer Segmentation: Machine Learning companies are building software for the businesses that are helping in customer segmentation. This has made the advertisements more focused and targatted. Business is now able to focus more on the target audience rather than taking audience as a whole. Brands are now more aware of their target customers. So it saves a lot of budget of carrying out SEO campaign by showing advertisements to the target customers only.

#6. On page and off page optimization: Machine learning algorithms have a huge impact on the page as well as off page optimization. While the importance of on-page optimization is reduced, off page optimization still holds its importance. Off-page optimization such as link building is still important. If you are using quality links for your website, your ranking is definitely going to improve. Bad, unrelated links can harm the reputation of your website.

#7. Personalize the buyer’s journey: Guide the customer throught the buyer’s journey. Machine learning algorithms can guide the buyer through the buying life cycle and personalize the user experience. Before buying the any product, the buyer preforms a a research to find the best product. Help the customer by finding the best products and services neraby. Get them product reviews so, they are able to better understand the product. Finally help the buyer in buying the product from multiple sources.

#8. Structured Data: Structured data is also going to improve the SEO. There are two types of data available over the internet. Structured as well as unstrcutured. Building structured data for the websites can make the websites more search engine friendly. This will also improver the Click Through Rate of the website. Google will understand that your website is serving some quality content.

Conclusion

Every business wants to rank high in the search engine result page. However only a few are able to achieve this target. With the application of machine learning in modern SEO, it has improved a lot. Digital marketers are required to adapt to the latest and new changes in the technology to gain maximum out of it. So it is advised to be future ready. Machine learning companies is improving the current SEO techniques by making them smarter. Also, let us wait and watch what machine learning has more for SEO and how it is going to improve it further.