Machine learning will change SEO more fundamentally than Penguin and Panda did - but we’re not there yet. AI is only used in small, specific use cases for organic search but its usage seems to be growing quickly. My hypothesis is that it will open many doors for Google to use data that was “too noisy” before. It will transform search and our lives in general. To stay on top of SEO and still be successful in 2020, get the user intent right, measure user behavior and create holistic content. Have a close eye on your industry by tracking specific keywords, monitoring your competitors and testing which ranking factors apply to you.

1. SEO LEVEL

2. 2024

3. 2026

4. 2026 - WRITING2027

5. 2031

6. 2049

7. 2053

8. 2060

11. The last 10 years have been about
building a world that is mobile-first, […].
But in the next 10 years, we will shift to a
world that is AI-first, […].
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google

12. Q:“What products at Google is your team
looking to improve?”
A:”[…]We’re looking at various aspects of
search. […]”
Demis Hassabis, CEO of Deep Mind

13. Turning point
Amit Singhal
2015
John Giannandrea
Information
retrieval
Machine
learning
https://backchannel.com/how-google-is-remaking-itself-as-a-machine-learning-first-company-ada63defcb70

15. TRANSITION

16. How to reach SEO level 9000
in a machine learning world

18. www.kevin-indig.com

19. www.kevin-indig.com

20. www.kevin-indig.com

21. Optimize for user intent

22. Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

24. Location
Location
Location

25. Location
Location
Location
6 our of 9 organic results from Yelp

27. Tutorial
Tutorial
Tutorial
Tutorial
Tutorial

29. Product
Product
Product
Product

31. Optimize for user intent
(AirBNB)

32. Optimize for user intent
(AirBNB)

33. Optimize for user intent
(AirBNB)

34. Optimize for user intent
(AirBNB)

35. Create holistic content

36. SEMANTICS

37. SEMANTICS

38. SEMANTICS

39. Create holistic content

40. Create holistic content

41. Create holistic content

42. Focus on user signals

43. Focus on user signals

44. Focus on user signals

45. Focus on user signals

46. Focus on user signals

47. Focus on user signals

48. User signals > Backlinks?

49. User signals > Backlinks?
“free credit score” (MSV: 246K)

50. User signals > Backlinks?
“free credit score” (MSV: 246K)
Strongest link profile

51. User signals > Backlinks?
“auto loan calculator” (MSV: 450K)

52. User signals > Backlinks?
“auto loan calculator” (MSV: 450K)

53. User signals > Backlinks?
“iphone7” (MSV: 277K)

54. User signals > Backlinks?
“iphone7” (MSV: 277K)

55. User signals > Backlinks?
“agile” (MSV: 49K)

56. User signals > Backlinks?
“agile” (MSV: 49K)

57. User signals > Backlinks?
“agile” (MSV: 49K)

59. Backlinks?
Content?

60. Find what works for you
matters

61. Industry specific ranking factors

62. Industry specific ranking factors

68. Test ranking factors

69. https://codeascraft.com/2016/10/25/seo-title-tag-optimization/
Test ranking factors (Etsy)

70. https://medium.com/@Pinterest_Engineering/demystifying-seo-with-experiments-a183b325cf4c
Test ranking factors (Pinterest)

71. https://www.thumbtack.com/engineering/seo-tip-titles-matter-probably-more-than-you-think/
Test ranking factors (Thumbtack)

72. Use t-paired tests to find what
works for you

73. Test ranking factors
1. Brainstorm
(what to test)
2. Research
(done before and
how?)
3. Setup
(same templates, min
two groups)
4.Test
(change, wait,
revert change)
5. Analysis
(compare means)
6. Conclusion
(document)

74. Monitor your industry

75. Monitor your industry

76. Macys
Sears
Kohls
Nordstrom

77. Monitor your industry

78. Monitor your industry

79. Monitor your industry

80. Monitor your industry

81. Monitor your industry

84. Reminded of something ;-)?

85. Focus on
Content
Semantics
User Intent
Holism
User signals
CTR
Dwell time
Bounce rate
Data
Test, test, test
Industry
Backlinks

86. Kevin Indig
kevin.indig@gmail.com
@Kevin_Indig
www.kevin-indig.com