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What if I told you there was a part of Google’s ranking algorithm that you didn’t know about? A part that is so important, it has been nicknamed “the third most important thing in SEO.” Well, there is such a thing, and it’s called RankBrain. In this post, we will explore what RankBrain is, how it works, and the benefits it can provide for your website. So sit back and relax – we have a lot to cover!
What is RankBrain?
RankBrain is a machine learning system that Google uses to help sort through the billions of search results it receives every day and surface the most relevant results for each user. In other words, it is responsible for determining which search results are the most useful and helpful for each individual query.
How Does RankBrain Work?
In order to understand how RankBrain works, we first need to understand a bit about how Google’s ranking algorithm works in general. Google’s ranking algorithm is made up of hundreds of different factors, or “signals,” that are used to determine the position of each website in the search results.
Some of these signals are weighted more heavily than others, and some signals are given more importance for certain types of searches than others. For example, the “keywords on page” signal is typically given more weight for searches that are related to a particular keyword or phrase.
But how does Google know which signals to use for each individual search? That’s where RankBrain comes in. RankBrain uses machine learning to analyze past search queries and results to determine which factors are the most important for each type of search.
So, if you were to search for “How do I fix a broken toilet?” RankBrain would look at past searches and results that are similar to yours and try to determine which factors are most important for this type of query.
RankBrain is constantly learning and evolving, which means that it is always getting better at understanding the intent behind each search and surfacing the most relevant results.
What are the Benefits of RankBrain?
There are many benefits of RankBrain, both for users and for website owners.
For users, RankBrain provides a better search experience by surfacing more relevant and helpful results for each query. This means that you are more likely to find what you are looking for when you use Google Search.
For website owners, RankBrain can help to improve your website’s ranking in the search results. This is because RankBrain takes into account the click-through rate (CTR) of each result when determining its position.
CTR is a measure of how often people who see your website in the search results click on it. In other words, it is a way of measuring how relevant and helpful your website is for a particular query.
If RankBrain sees that people are clicking on your website more often than other websites for a particular query, it will conclude that your website is more relevant and helpful for that query, and it will adjust your ranking accordingly.
This means that if you can improve your CTR, you can improve your ranking in the search results. And improving your CTR is not as difficult as it may seem – there are a number of simple techniques that you can use to improve your CTR and, as a result, your ranking in the search results.
Conclusion
RankBrain is a machine learning system that Google uses to help sort through the billions of search results it receives every day and surface the most relevant results for each user. RankBrain uses machine learning to analyze past search queries and results to determine which factors are the most important for each type of search. This means that RankBrain is constantly learning and evolving, which is good news for users who want more relevant and helpful results from their searches. For website owners, RankBrain can help to improve your website’s ranking in the search results by taking into account the click-through rate (CTR) of each result. This means that if you can improve your CTR, you can improve your ranking in the search results. And improving your CTR is not as difficult as it may seem – there are a number of simple techniques that you can use to improve your CTR and, as a result, your ranking in the search results.
If you want to learn more about RankBrain and how it works, we recommend checking out this video from Google:
In this video, Matt Cutts, former head of the webspam team at Google, explains what RankBrain is and how it works. He also shares some tips on how website owners can improve their CTR and, as a result, their ranking in the search results. We hope you found this post helpful. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below. Thanks for reading!

Jamie Fallon is an SEO expert who lives life to the maximum, redlining every day on a rollercoaster straight to the grave.
In an SEO career of almost ten years, he’s seen it all, he’s done it all, and he’s not impressed: from white text on a white background to today, when you can have robots paint or write for you like some kind of sick science fiction come true.
No matter what life throws at him, Jamie always manages to come out on top. He’s an expert at seeing the silver lining in every cloud and making the best of every situation. His positive attitude and unshakable faith in himself have seen him through tough times. For some people, success goes to their heads; but Jamie never forgets what got him to wherever he thinks he is.
When he’s not busy gaming the system, you can find him writing angry thinkpieces on how Google is ruining everything good about the internet, or hanging out with his wife (pictured).