Search Engine Journal reposted this
It's time for a paradigm shift when thinking about ranking systems and signals for Google. Google has been aggressively integrating AI into its ranking system, and AI is rapidly becoming more sophisticated in determining what content ranks for which keywords. AI will develop entirely new types of signals or new ways to examine existing signals. Signals that were relevant a few years ago can be completely irrelevant today--which is also why the Google leaks are mostly irrelevant for SEOs. These signals will be about audience interest and engagement. So, it's time to start thinking about search signals like human signals. This means asking questions like: *How do my product or content assets uniquely solve my audience's problems? *What reasons does my target audience have to search for my brand? *What is the net promotor score (NPS) for my concepts? Does this seem counterintuitive for #SEO? It is. But it will change every aspect of how you approach SEO. SEJ asked me to contribute some of my thoughts on this topic, along with other ridiculously clever search minds like Erika Varangouli, Kevin Indig, Mordy Oberstein, Adam Riemer, Aleh Barysevich, and Ludwig Makhyan. Search Engine Journal's latest ebook is filled with insights. Nice job on this Ben Steele. Looking for a copy of the ebook? Copy and paste this term into Google: "Search Engine Journal Google Ranking System & Signals"