This presentation looks into how search engines may work in order to help marketers better identify where to focus their efforts. It touches on the different processes that help to build the search results, with a deeper dive into ranking, context and knowledge building. For all question and queries, please reach out to me at hello@ricrodriguez.co.uk.

1. Keywords, Journeys &
Answers – How Search
Has Changed
Ric Rodriguez, SEO Consultant

2. 2019 - SEO Consultant, Yext
2018 - SEO Director, iProspect
2016 - SEO Director, Croud
2016 - SEO Strategist, Three Whiskey
2014 - SEO Analyst, iCrossing

3. Technology has enabled people
to look for info in different ways

4. Speed to adoption is increasing
Time to reach 50m users
46
years
50
years
62
years
64
years
70
0
Sources: Visual Capitalist & Interactive Schools

5. Speed to adoption is increasing
Time to reach 50m users
46
years
50
years
62
years
64
years
12
years
22
years
28
years
70
0
Sources: Visual Capitalist & Interactive Schools

6. Speed to adoption is increasing
Time to reach 50m users
12
years 7
years 10
months
19
days
22
years
28
years
46
years
50
years
62
years
64
years
70
0
Sources: Visual Capitalist & Interactive Schools

7. Consumers are getting used to the
new search formats and platforms

8. Shifting channels of engagement
Time spend by device / day6h
0h
2016201520142012 201720132011201020092008
3h
Sources: Kleiner Perkins
Mobile
Other
Desktop

9. Shifting channels of engagement
6h
0h
2016201520142012 201720132011201020092008
3h
Sources: Kleiner Perkins
Other
Desktop
Mobile
Time spend by device / day

10. Shifting channels of engagement
Smart speaker sales (projection)300m
0m
2024202320222020 202520212019201820172016
150m
Sources: Loup Ventures / Voicebot.ai
37m
units
9m
units
73m
units52m
units

11. Shifting channels of engagement
Smart speaker sales (projection)300m
0m
2024202320222020 202520212019201820172016
150m
Sources: Loup Ventures / Voicebot.ai
37m
units
9m
units
73m
units52m
units
101m
units
129m
units
172m
units
205m
units
233m
units
291m
units

12. Connecting with users at the point
of intent is increasingly a challenge

13. Search is more than your website
how far is the moon?_

14. Search is more than your website
how far is the moon?_
Search
Answers
Websites
Meta
Search
Voice
Search
Social
Media
Apps /
PWAs
Search
Results
Chat /
Message
AR / VR

15. Search is more than your website
how far is the moon?_
Search
Answers
Websites
Meta
Search
Voice
Search
Social
Media
Apps /
PWAs
Search
Results
Chat /
Message
AR / VR
Knowledge base + machine learning

16. This is new for many but search
has worked this way for some time

17. To organise the world’s information
High
Crawling

18. To organise the world’s information
High
Crawling Parsing

19. To organise the world’s information
IndexingCrawling Parsing

20. To organise the world’s information
High
Indexing QueryingCrawling Parsing

21. To organise the world’s information
Indexing Querying ServingCrawling Parsing

22. To organise the world’s information
ServingCrawling Indexing QueryingParsing
Serving (ranking) is the part we know the least about

23. To organise the world’s information
Indexing Querying ServingCrawling Parsing
Information retrieval is an open book of new ideas

24. To succeed, we need to challenge
everything that we believe is true

25. Adopting a modern search mindset
1. Ranking isn’t helpful
2. Context is important
3. Knowledge is power

26. Adopting a modern search mindset
1. Ranking isn’t helpful
2. Context is important
3. Knowledge is power

27. Adopting a modern search mindset
1. Ranking isn’t helpful
2. Context is important
3. Knowledge is power

28. Ranking isn’t helpful; it’s a black
box and it’s intrinsically transient

29. Ranking is a multi-layered system
Website 1
Website 2
Website 3
Website 4
Technical
Position 1
Position 2
Position 3
Position 4
Content
Links

30. Ranking is a multi-layered system
Website 1
Website 2
Website 3
Website 4
Black box of
“ranking factors”
Position 1
Position 2
Position 3
Position 4

31. Ranking is a multi-layered system
Black box
of “ranking
factors”
Secondary
refinements
Personalisation
Position 1
Position 2
Position 3
Position 4
Website 1
Website 2
Website 3
Website 4

32. Ranking is a multi-layered system
Black box
of “ranking
factors”
(e.g., speed)
Secondary
refinements
Personalisation
Position 1
Position 2
Position 3
Position 4
Website 1
Website 2
Website 3
Website 4

33. Ranking is a multi-layered system
Website 1
Website 2
Website 3
Website 4
#1
#2
#3
#4
#1
#2
#3
#4
#1
#2
#3
#4
#1
#2
#3
#4
#1
#2
#3
#4
#1
#2
#3
#4

34. Ranking is a multi-layered system
?
#1
#2
#3
#4
#1
#2
#3
#4
#1
#2
#3
#4
#1
#2
#3
#4
#1
#2
#3
#4
#1
#2
#3
#4
This tells the search engine
how to order the inputs - but
not what the inputs are

35. Context is important when your
users expect to search naturally

36. Deciphering meaning is complex
hammers boxing day for sale online_
*Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process

37. Deciphering meaning is complex
hammers boxing day for sale online_
Product category: diy tool
Time period: Boxing Day
Date: 26th December 2019
Transaction medium: online
Transaction event: sale event
*Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process

38. Deciphering meaning is complex
hammers boxing day for sale online_
Left to right understanding
Ignore “common” words
*Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process

39. Deciphering meaning is complex
hammers boxing day for sale online_
*Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process
Product category: diy tool
Time period: Boxing Day
Date: 26th December 2019
Transaction medium: online
Transaction event: sale event

40. Deciphering meaning is complex
hammers boxing day for sale online_
Misinterpreted
*Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process

41. Deciphering meaning is complex
hammers boxing day for sale online_
Misinterpreted Not accounted for
*Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process

42. Deciphering meaning is complex
hammers boxing day for sale online_
Left to right understanding
Ignore “common” words
*Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process
BERT changed this for the better

43. Deciphering meaning is complex
The Hammers is the nickname of West Ham United football club
BERT – learning through masking words
*Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process
The Hammers is the nickname of West Ham United football club
The Hammers is the nickname of West Ham United football club

44. Deciphering meaning is complex
The Hammers is the nickname of West Ham United football club.
BERT - learning through guessing the next sentence
*Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process
He used them to build a new cabinet.
They used to be based at Upton Park.

45. Deciphering meaning is complex
hammers boxing day for sale online_
Using BERT to understand each word’s impact
*Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process

46. Deciphering meaning is complex
hammers boxing day for sale online_
*Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process
Product category: tickets
Type: West Ham United
Date: 26th December 2019
Event type: football fixture
Transaction medium: online

47. Knowledge (data) is power; it is
at the heart of answer machines

48. Hammers
Football Team DIY Tool
Domain
Vector
Graphs, entities and structured data

49. DIYTools
Football Team
A hammer
West Ham United
Graphs, entities and structured data

50. DIYTools
Football Team
A hammer
West Ham United
Fixture tickets
Graphs, entities and structured data

51. Football Team:
Season:
Division:
Nickname:
Located In
2019 / 2020
Premier
League
Hammers
London
Fixture Date
Home Team
Away Team
26/12/2019
Crystal
Palace
West Ham
United
West Ham United
Entity
Value pairs (structured data)
Graphs, entities and structured data

52. who are west ham playing on boxing day this year?_
Graphs, entities and structured data
Football Team:
Season:
Division:
Nickname:
Located In
2019 / 2020
Premier
League
Hammers
London
Fixture Date
Home Team
Away Team
26/12/2019
Crystal
Palace
West Ham
United
West Ham United

53. London
Airport Name: Gatwick
Operating
Airline:
British Airways
Aircraft Name:
Heathrow
Operating
Airline:
Airbus 321
Airport Name:
Graphs, entities and structured data

54. London
British Airways
London
British Airways
Airbus 321
Heathrow
Gatwick
Graphs, entities and structured data

55. West Ham
United
Located In:
England
Capital
City:
Great Fire
Of London
Happened
In:
New Years
Party
Event At:
Destination:
British
Airways
Financial
Centre:
United
Kingdom
Lives In:
Boris
Johnson
Former
Name:
Londinium
london_
Graphs, entities and structured data

56. Graphs, entities and structured data

57. Graphs, entities and structured data
This knowledge network is built from the web
as a whole – its content and connections

58. Search will always be about data;
it’s our role to build the knowledge