ARTICLE AD BOX
Back successful 2012 Google applied for a patent called “Ranking Search Results” that shows however Google tin usage branded hunt queries arsenic a ranking factor. The patent is astir utilizing branded hunt queries and navigational queries arsenic ranking factors, positive a number of autarkic links. Although this patent is from 2012, it’s imaginable that it whitethorn inactive play a relation successful ranking.
The patent was misunderstood by the hunt selling assemblage successful 2012 and the cognition contained successful it was lost.
What Is The Ranking Search Results Patent About? TL/DR
The patent is explicitly astir an invention for ranking hunt results, that’s wherefore the patent is called “Ranking Search Results.” The patent describes an algorithm that uses to ranking factors to re-rank web pages:
Sorting Factor 1: By fig of autarkic inbound links
This is simply a number of links that are autarkic from the tract being ranked.
Sorting Factor 2: By fig of branded hunt queries & navigational hunt queries.
The branded and navigational hunt queries are called “reference queries” and besides are referred to arsenic implied links.
The counts of some factors are utilized to modify the rankings of the web pages.
Why The Patent Was Misunderstood TL/DR
First, I privation to accidental that successful 2012, I didn’t recognize however to work patents. I was much funny successful probe papers and near the patent speechmaking to others. When I accidental that everyone successful the hunt selling assemblage misunderstood the patent, I see myself successful that group.
The “Ranking Search Results” patent was published successful 2012, 1 twelvemonth aft the merchandise of a contented prime update called the Panda Update. The Panda update was named aft 1 of the engineers who worked connected it, Navneet Panda. Navneet Panda came up with questions that 3rd enactment prime raters utilized to complaint web pages. Those ratings were utilized arsenic a trial to spot if changes to the algorithm were palmy astatine removing “content farm” content.
Navneet Panda is besides a co-author of the “Ranking hunt results” patent. SEOs saw his sanction connected the patent and instantly assumed that this was the Panda patent.
The crushed wherefore that presumption is incorrect is due to the fact that the Panda update is an algorithm that uses a “classifier” to classify web pages by contented quality. The “Ranking Search Results” patent is astir ranking hunt results, period. The Ranking Search Results patent is not astir contented prime nor does it diagnostic a contented prime classifier.
Nothing successful the “Ranking Search Results” patent relates successful immoderate mode with the Panda update.
Why This Patent Is Not The Panda Update
In 2009 Google released the Caffeine Update which enabled Google to rapidly scale caller contented but inadvertently created a loophole that allowed contented farms to fertile millions of web pages connected seldom searched topics.
In an interrogation with Wired, erstwhile Google hunt technologist Matt Cutts described the contented farms similar this:
“It was like, “What’s the bare minimum that I tin bash that’s not spam?” It benignant of fell betwixt our respective groups. And past we decided, okay, we’ve got to travel unneurotic and fig retired however to code this.”
Google subsequently responded with the Panda Update, named aft a hunt technologist who worked connected the algorithm which was specifically designed to filter retired contented workplace content. Google utilized 3rd enactment tract prime raters to complaint websites and the feedback was utilized to make a caller explanation of contented prime that was utilized against contented workplace content.
Matt Cutts described the process:
“There was an technologist who came up with a rigorous acceptable of questions, everything from. “Do you see this tract to beryllium authoritative? Would it beryllium good if this was successful a magazine? Does this tract person excessive ads?” Questions on those lines.
…we really came up with a classifier to say, okay, IRS oregon Wikipedia oregon New York Times is implicit connected this side, and the low-quality sites are implicit connected this side. And you tin truly spot mathematical reasons…”
In elemental terms, a classifier is an algorithm wrong a strategy that categorizes data. In the discourse of the Panda Update, the classifier categorizes web pages by contented quality.
What’s evident erstwhile speechmaking the “Ranking hunt results” patent is that it’s intelligibly not astir contented quality, it’s astir ranking hunt results.
Meaning Of Express Links And Implied Links
The “Ranking Search Results” patent uses 2 kinds of links to modify ranked hunt results:
- Implied links
- Express links
Implied links:
The patent uses branded hunt queries and navigational queries to cipher a ranking people arsenic if the branded/navigational queries are links, calling them implied links. The implied links are utilized to make a origin for modifying web pages that are applicable (responsive) to hunt queries.
Express links:
The patent besides uses autarkic inbound links to the web leafage arsenic a portion of different calculation to travel up with a origin for modifying web pages that are responsive to a hunt query.
Both of those kinds of links (implied and autarkic explicit link) are utilized arsenic factors to modify the rankings of a radical of web pages.
Understanding what the patent is astir is straightforward due to the fact that the opening of the patent explains it successful comparatively casual to recognize English.
This conception of the patent uses the pursuing jargon:
- A assets is simply a web leafage oregon website.
- A people (target resource) is what is being linked to oregon referred to.
- A “source resource” is simply a assets that makes a citation to the “target resource.”
- The connection “group” means the radical of web pages that are applicable to a hunt query and are being ranked.
The patent talks astir “express links” which are conscionable regular links. It besides describes “implied links” which are references wrong hunt queries, references to a web leafage (which is called a “target resource”).
I’m going to adhd slug points to the archetypal sentences truthful that they are easier to understand.
Okay, truthful this is the archetypal important part:
“Links for the radical tin see explicit links, implied links, oregon both.
An explicit link, e.g., a hyperlink, is simply a nexus that is included successful a root assets that a idiosyncratic tin travel to navigate to a people resource.
An implied nexus is simply a notation to a people resource, e.g., a citation to the people resource, which is included successful a root assets but is not an explicit nexus to the people resource. Thus, a assets successful the radical tin beryllium the people of an implied nexus without a idiosyncratic being capable to navigate to the assets by pursuing the implied link.”
The 2nd important portion uses the aforesaid jargon to specify what implied links are:
- A assets is simply a web leafage oregon website.
- The tract being linked to oregon referred to is called a “target resource.”
- A “group of resources” means a radical of web pages.
This is however the patent explains implied links:
“A query tin beryllium classified arsenic referring to a peculiar assets if the query includes a word that is recognized by the strategy arsenic referring to the peculiar resource.
For example, a word that refers to a assets whitethorn beryllium each of oregon a information of a assets identifier, e.g., the URL, for the resource.
For example, the word “example.com” whitethorn beryllium a word that is recognized arsenic referring to the location leafage of that domain, e.g., the assets whose URL is “http://www.example.com”.
Thus, hunt queries including the word “example.com” tin beryllium classified arsenic referring to that location page.
As different example, if the strategy has information indicating that the presumption “example sf” and “esf” are commonly utilized by users to notation to the assets whose URL is “http://www.sf.example.com,” queries that incorporate the presumption “example sf” oregon “esf”, e.g., the queries “example sf news” and “esf edifice reviews,” tin beryllium counted arsenic notation queries for the radical that includes the assets whose URL is “http://www.sf.example.com.” “
The supra mentation defines “reference queries” arsenic the presumption that radical usage to notation to a circumstantial website. So, for illustration (my example), if radical hunt utilizing “Walmart” with the keyword Air Conditioner wrong their hunt query past the query “Walmart” + Air Conditioner is counted arsenic a “reference query” to Walmart.com, it’s counted arsenic a citation and an implied link.
The Patent Is Not About “Brand Mentions” On Web Pages
Some SEOs judge that a notation of a marque connected a web leafage is counted by Google arsenic if it’s a link. They person misinterpreted this patent to enactment the content that an “implied link” is simply a marque notation connected a web page.
As you tin see, the patent does not picture the usage of “brand mentions” connected web pages. It’s crystal wide that the meaning of “implied links” wrong the discourse of this patent is astir references to brands wrong hunt queries, not connected a web page.
It besides discusses doing the aforesaid happening with navigational queries:
“In summation oregon successful the alternative, a query tin beryllium categorized arsenic referring to a peculiar assets erstwhile the query has been determined to beryllium a navigational query to the peculiar resource. From the idiosyncratic constituent of view, a navigational query is simply a query that is submitted successful bid to get to a single, peculiar web tract oregon web leafage of a peculiar entity. The strategy tin find whether a query is navigational to a assets by accessing information that identifies queries that are classified arsenic navigational to each of a fig of resources.”
The takeaway past is that the genitor describes the usage of “reference queries” (branded/navigational hunt queries) arsenic a origin akin to links and that’s wherefore they’re called implied links.
Modification Factor
The algorithm generates a “modification factor” which re-ranks (modifies) the a radical of web pages that are applicable to a hunt query based connected the “reference queries” (which are branded hunt queries) and besides utilizing a number of autarkic inbound links.
This is however the modification (or ranking) is done:
- A number of inbound links utilizing lone “independent” links (links that are not controlled by the tract being linked to).
- A number is made of the notation queries (branded hunt queries) (which are fixed a ranking powerfulness similar a link).
Reminder: “resources” is simply a notation to web pages and websites.
Here is however the patent explains the portion astir the ranking:
“The strategy generates a modification origin for the radical of resources from the number of autarkic links and the number of notation queries… For example, the modification origin tin beryllium a ratio of the fig of autarkic links for the radical to the fig of notation queries for the group.”
What the patent is doing is it is filtering links successful bid to usage links that are not associated with the website and it is besides counting however galore branded hunt queries are made for a webpage oregon website and utilizing that arsenic a ranking origin (modification factor).
In retrospect it was a mistake for immoderate successful the SEO manufacture to usage this patent arsenic “proof” for their thought astir marque mentions connected websites being a ranking factor.
It’s wide that “implied links” are not astir marque mentions successful web pages arsenic a ranking origin but alternatively it’s astir marque mentions (and URLs & domains) successful hunt queries that tin beryllium utilized arsenic ranking factors.
Why This Patent Is Important
This patent describes a mode to usage branded hunt queries arsenic a awesome of popularity and relevance for ranking web pages. It’s a bully awesome due to the fact that it’s the users themselves saying that a circumstantial website is applicable for circumstantial hunt queries. It’s a awesome that’s hard to manipulate which whitethorn marque it a cleanable non-spam signal.
We don’t cognize if Google uses what’s described successful the patent. But it’s casual to recognize wherefore it could inactive beryllium a applicable awesome today.
Read The Patent Within The Entire Context
Patents usage circumstantial connection and it’s casual to misinterpret the words oregon place the meaning of it by focusing connected circumstantial sentences. The biggest mistake I spot SEOs bash is to region 1 oregon 2 sentences from their discourse and past usage that to accidental that Google is doing thing oregon other. This is however SEO misinformation begins.
Read my nonfiction astir How To Read Google Patents to recognize however to work them and debar misinterpreting them. Even if you don’t work patents, knowing the accusation is adjuvant due to the fact that it’ll marque it easier to spot misinformation astir patents, which determination is simply a batch of close now.
I constricted this nonfiction to communicating what the “Ranking Search Results” patent is and what the astir important points are. There galore granular details astir antithetic implementations that I don’t screen due to the fact that they’re not indispensable to knowing the wide patent itself.
If you privation the granular details, I powerfully promote archetypal speechmaking my nonfiction astir however to work patents earlier speechmaking the patent.
Read the patent here:
English (US)