Google’s New Patent: A Glimpse into the Future of Search

Source_Image by Robin Higgins from Pixabay_listening-3079065

Google’s latest patent application, “Contextual Estimation of Link Information Gain,” was recently granted and has sent shockwaves across the general SEO community. This patent may very well be a potential preface to just how Google will alter its search algorithms with the goal of maximizing the user experience and interface.

Information Gain

At the core of the patent lies the very concept of “Information Gain.” That metric is an effort to quantify an increment in value that a Web page provides to a user beyond what has already been viewed. In other words, it measures the relevance of a page to the changing query of a user.

The patent suggests a system where Google would rank web pages based on their potential to provide fresh and valuable information to a user. Rather than just emphasizing keyword optimization and link building, which are the current parameters of the conventional view, it tilts the emphasis strongly in the direction of the quality of content and user intent.

 Impact on Search Results

The potential implications this patent brings to SEO are huge. Assuming this does roll out, we may very well end up with a search landscape where content depth, accuracy, and relevance drive ranking criteria even further.

• AI Overviews: This feels very much like an articulation of user intent and something that ties well with Google’s AI Overviews functionality. This potentially could make AI Overviews more prevalent in search results and could have further implications for click-through rates and organic traffic.
• Featured Snippets: Another thing by which the patent’s emphasis on favoring short and relevant content that could likely lead to the formation of a featured snippet was a tendency to rank highly informative content.
•  User Experience: The idea of favoring informational fresh content will serve a better user experience and might mean prioritizing in-depth content that is well-organized and caters to user needs.

Beyond Organic Search

Of course, while this patent deals with the ranking of Web pages, it has clear implications beyond organic search. Think about using Information Gain to refine search results returned within Google voice assistants and other conversational interfaces.

Understanding the subtleties of user queries and serving relevant information in good time enables Google to build rewarding and engaging experiences for search.

SEO Metadas

SEOs must lose focus on the shifting potential of this patent. Instead of straight-up keyword optimization, concentrate on creating high-quality, informative content that thoroughly answers comprehensive searcher needs.

• Content Depth: A developed website’s potential to rank highly increases exponentially with the development of thorough, well-researched content covering any given topic in depth.
• User Intent: Define the user’s intent. One should build content that would answer user questions and speak to a user’s needs.
• Information Architecture: Make sure your website has a proper, clear, and logical structure so the information will be available to users right away; it really helps with the overall user experience and might even reflect in higher scores for Information Gain.
• Technical SEO: If content is king, technical SEO is still part of the kingdom. The speed of a website, its mobile-friendliness, and its accessibility are the factors that allow users to easily and efficiently access the content and consume it.

Unraveling the Implications of the Information Gain Patent: Going Deeper into the Evolution of Google Search

The ramifications of the Information Gain patent stretch beyond the alterations that it brings directly to search rankings. This is representative of a change happening in how search engines treat and respond to user queries. Google is trying, by offering the content that gives new insights with unusual views, to lift search in general.

There is, of course, a technical detail with such a patent in relation to the particular mechanism that the patent specifies for ranking web pages. The concept of Information Gain is very much aligned with what Google searches for: ways to have results that will best serve the users. This quality-over-quantity direction is a major trend that giants are leading.

One possible consequence of the Information Gain patent is that content farms and crap websites will lose prominence. As search algorithms come to be more and more capable of discerning true value on websites from mere keyword stuffing and thin content, those whose very survival has been defined by those very methods are likely to take a tumble in their SERPs ranking. It could create a more level playing field for those who strive to make quality content rather than focusing on quantity.

Challenges and Opportunities for SEOs

Making it necessary, then, to adopt a rather different approach strategically to your on-page SEO, adjusting to the Information Gain paradigm. Old techniques using keyword optimization and link building are not going to be made defunct by this development but presently used to be the frontliners.

Success then falls to those crafting deep and comprehensive content. Thorough coverage of a topic raises the likelihood of the page gaining recognition for being high-information content.

• Freshness and Uniqueness: Providing fresh angles and content that users have not seen on other sites will be a competitive advantage.
• User-First: The user must be at the center of it all and in mind of what and why he is doing. The content should be crafted so that it can respond and resolve the queries that a user might present.
• Design Attractive: Interactive content like videos, images and graphics, quizzes and others, can enhance the user experience, making dwell time on a page longer.

Moreover, SEOs have to observe the user-behavior metrics keenly. Metrics such as bounce rate, click-through rate, and time on page can tell how the content is faring. Analyzing such data, the SEOs can then pinpoint what went wrong and correct the content accordingly.

The Role of AI on Information Gain

Artificial Intelligence will be a critical implementation in the concept of Information Gain. Learning algorithms will be put in active use by the machines to traverse huge volumes of data, hence detecting patterns in user behavior and content performance. Using machine learning algorithms will enrich the information about how a user behaves and how a piece of content performs.

Additionally, AI can help content creators suggest topics to write about, optimize content, and in fact, wherever there is an opening for improvement. The use of AI tools would, in essence, save an SEO specialist time and effort, producing much better and richer content within a much shorter time frame.

Impacts on Content Creators

For content writers, the Information Gain patent will open different challenges and opportunities: pressure from the market to deliver quality content while creating space for differentiation, therefore focusing on niche topics identified with deep research; finally, providing expert opinion content creators can establish individual authority in their particular niche field.

On top of it, new patterns and models for audience engagement are the way to go. Interactive content channeled through long-form articles and video also raises Information Gain. Here, therefore, content investment in its production and distribution at a higher quality will get content creators ahead in the dynamic search environment.

The Future of Search

The Information Gain patent represents a look at the future of search, where relevance and user experience are really focused on. The more advanced search engines become, the more it will take to be both competent and successful in creating valuable, informative, and engaging content.

By realizing the principles of Information Gain, and implementing search strategies accordingly, businesses and content creators are able to structure their businesses in that way and, therefore, allow room for continuous growth and success. We have just embarked on a journey that’ll make search much more informative and user-centric.

Sources:

• https://www.searchenginejournal.com/googles-information-gain-patent-for-ranking-web-pages/524464/
• https://searchengineland.com/what-is-information-gain-seo-why-it-matters-429763
• https://searchengineland.com/what-information-gain-seo-means-440326
• https://twitter.com/sejournal/status/1824156267130036375

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