Understanding Google's Ranking Systems
Season: 2 | Episode: 6
Published: February 24, 2025
By: Byer Co
This podcast episode from Byer Co Services provides a comprehensive guide to understanding Google's ranking systems. It explains active ranking systems such as BERT, MUM, RankBrain, and the Helpful Content System, along with retired systems like Panda and Penguin. The guide offers actionable steps for website optimization, focusing on high-quality content, user experience, and sitewide signals. Finally, it emphasizes the importance of staying updated on algorithm changes to avoid penalties and maintain high search rankings.
Link: Understanding Google's Ranking Systems
Keywords: Marketing,seo,web design,ranking system
Episode Transcript
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Welcome to the all new digital rage. I am Jeff the producer here at Byer Company.
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Today we're exploring the ins and outs of Google's ranking systems.
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Understanding these ranking systems and their evolution are the core of SEO strategies.
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They even help us predict what's coming up next so let's deep dive into ranking systems.
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Welcome to the Deep Dive. Ready to explore how Google ranks websites.
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Sounds like a fascinating journey.
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It is. We're diving deep into this awesome guide called Understanding Google's ranking systems.
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It's by Jeff Byer. He's like a total SEO expert runs his own company Byer Co.
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Oh I've heard of him. Seems like we've got a solid roadmap for this deep dive.
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Exactly. We're going to break down how these algorithms work and give you some solid tips to
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boost your website's visibility. No more getting lost in the search results of this.
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It's incredible how much Google systems have evolved. Remember the days when it was all about
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cramming in keywords. Oh the keyword stuffing. Glad those days are over.
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Right. Now it's all about AI and user experience.
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That's what we're diving into today. Google's got this whole arsenal of ranking systems.
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Bruce some are active others. Well they've retired.
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It's like Google's constantly experimenting always trying to fine-tune things.
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Keeps us on our toes right a ship. Okay let's start with the active systems. First up,
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Bert. Bert or should I say bi-directional encoder representations from transformers?
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You can say that again. I'm just going to stick with Bert. Think of it as Google becoming
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like a language whiz. Yes. Bert excels at understanding the nuances of human language,
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the context of what we're searching for. It's pretty amazing. Like if you just search for the word
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book, Bert can figure out if you're looking to buy one, reserve one at a library, or maybe even book
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a table at a restaurant called the book. So no more getting a list of libraries when you just want
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to buy the latest bestseller. Exactly. That's seriously impressive. But wait, Google's AI gets
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even wilder. Enter. M-U-M-U. It stands for multitask unified model and it's like Bert on a whole other
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level. Imagine asking Google, I'm planning a trip to Japan, want to hike Mt Fuji,
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any dog friendly trails with awesome views? What's the weather like in April? Okay, that's a pretty
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specific question. And M-U-M can handle it. It can pull info from tons of sources like websites,
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images, videos, got even stuff, different languages. So it's like having a personal travel
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agent powered by Google. Yep. No more endless tabs and cross-referencing. Okay, I'm sold. Google,
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where's my trip to Japan? Okay, moving on. Ranked brain. Ah, yes. Ranked brain. That's Google's secret
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weapon for understanding those never before seen search terms. Like say you search for best noise
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canceling headphones for a chatty parrot. That's oddly specific. But I get it. Even though that phrase
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is unique, Ranked brain can still figure out what you mean. It uses machine learning to connect
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your query to relevant results, even if the exact words aren't there. So Google's basically
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predicting what we're going to search for before we even know it. Pretty much. They're always one
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step ahead. Mine blowing. Okay. All right, next up, neural matching. Neural matching is all about
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connecting the dots. It can link your search to relevant pages, even if they don't have the exact
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same keywords. Imagine searching a, why does my TV picture look blurry? Neural matching can understand
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that you're probably talking about the soap opera effect and point you to settings to adjust motion
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smoothing. So it's reading between the lines of our searches. Exactly. It's about understanding intent,
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not just matching words. All right. Now for something I know a lot of folks are interested in.
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The helpful content system. This is where Google really puts on its quality control hat. Think of it
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like this. You want to learn how to, I don't know, bake sourdough bread? Always up for some bread
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baking. One website's got like a short generic recipe. Another has an in-depth guide written by an
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expert baker, step-by-step pics videos, maybe even tips for troubleshooting sticky dough, which ones
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more helpful. Oh, definitely the in-depth one. Exactly. A Google's going to favor that one too. It wants
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to see content that goes above and beyond that really answers those user questions. So it's not just
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about pumping out content. It's about like actually knowing your stuff and being passionate about it.
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Exactly. Enthusiasm and expertise shine through. And Google can spot that. Speaking of shining,
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let's talk about the page experience system. This is all about well how pleasant is it to be on your
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website. You know the sites that take forever to load or they're impossible to use on your phone.
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Oof, total nightmare. Yeah. Google feels the same way. So they're looking at things like
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site speed, mobile friendliness, making sure browsing is secure, and no annoying pop-ups blocking
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everything. It's like saying, hey, make your website a welcoming space. Or Google will send you to
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the bottom of the search result. The digital bouncer. Yeah. I like it. Okay, now for the flip side,
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spam detection systems. This is Google's way of saying don't even try to trick us.
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They're experts at sniffing out spammy tactics. Keyword stuffing, cloaking, shady links.
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So no shortcuts to the top. Nope. Google's watching. Focus on creating genuine value,
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not trying to game the system. Gotcha. Honest is the best policy, even in SEO.
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Okay, now for a system that sounds kind of cool. Passage ranking.
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Passage ranking is pretty neat. It lets Google write specific sections of a page instead of just
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the whole thing. Say you're searching for how to change a flat tire. Google can zoom right in on
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the exact paragraph that explains that, even if the rest of the page is about like car maintenance
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in general. So it's like a Google laser highlighting exactly what you need. No more scrolling through
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a whole article for that one little nugget of info. Exactly. It makes things much easier. Love that.
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Okay, last one for our active systems. The product reviews system. This one is all about, well,
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reviews. Google wants to showcase those high quality, original reviews, the ones that show real
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expertise. Like if you're researching a new coffee maker and one site has a short generic review versus
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another with an in-depth analysis by a coffee aficionado who's actually used it. You mean they don't
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just pour hot water over instant coffee and call it a day? Ah, exactly. That in-depth authentic review.
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That's the gold standard. Google's going to favor that one big time. Makes sense. Show, don't just tell.
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Yep. So if you're thinking of adding reviews to your site, make sure they're the real deal.
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Authenticity rules the digital world. That covers the active systems. But you know what?
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There's a whole graveyard of retired Google algorithms. It's like a digital history lesson seeing
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what Google used to prioritize. Sounds intriguing. Lead the way. It's kind of like opening up a time capsule,
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isn't it? Seeing how Google's thinking has changed. Totally. So which of these retired systems should we
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be like studying? Well, two big names come to mind. Panda and Penguin. Ring a bell. Oh yeah,
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vaguely. I need a refresher though. Right. So Panda was all about like weeding out those low-quality
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websites, you know, thin content, duplicate stuff, just unhelpful pages in general. So like if your
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website was just a bunch of keyword stuff left, Panda would be like, "no." Exactly. It was a major push
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for quality content. Makes sense. No one wants the waste time on a site that doesn't actually provide
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any like real value. Right. And then we had Penguin. Penguin was all about tackling those spammy
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link practices. Sites trying to cheat their way to the top with like shady backlinks. Penguin would
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swoop in and penalize them. So even back then, Google was cracking down on those black hat SEO tricks.
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Oh, absolutely. And even though Panda and Penguin aren't separate systems anymore, their core ideas,
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they're still super relevant. They're now baked into Google's main algorithms. So it's like they've
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gone undercover. Still fighting the good fight for quality and legit SEO. That's a great way to put it.
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And you know, it really highlights why it's so important to stay updated on Google's changes.
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What worked a few years ago could actually be hurting you now.
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Yeah, okay. Message received. We gotta stay ahead of the game. So let's shift gears a bit. Let's talk
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strategy. What are some actionable things we can do to like really optimize our websites for all
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these ranking systems, both active and retired? The foundation, it always comes back to high-quality
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content. Content that's truly focused on the user. That means understanding what your audience is
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searching for, answering their questions thoroughly, solving their problems, you know, going beyond
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the surface level. So we can't just churn out those like 500 word blog posts stuffed with keywords.
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Those days are over. Pretty much. Think of it this way. If you were having a conversation with someone,
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you wouldn't just throw a bunch of random words at them, right? That would be a weird conversation.
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Exactly. You'd want to have a real exchange share insights. Maybe tell a story. It's the same with
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content. Engage your audience. Don't just try to like, appease the Google bots. I like that analogy.
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It's about being authentic, having a real conversation with your readers. Spot on. And remember,
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Google's getting smarter all the time. It can sense when you're being genuine and when you're just
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trying to play the system. So authenticity is key. Yeah. But beyond, you know, awesome content.
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What else can we do to boost our rankings? User experience is huge. It's like, imagine
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walking into a store that's just a mess cluttered, bad lighting, signs that make no sense.
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Oh, it'd be out of there so fast. Same with websites. If it's slow to load, hard to navigate,
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doesn't look good on mobile. People are going to bounce. And Google's going to notice.
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So we get to make our websites like welcoming and user friendly, no more digital junk drawers.
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Right. And while we're talking tech stuff, we got to mention structured data and metadata.
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Okay. Those always sound kind of intimidating to me. I know. They sound technical. But think of it
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this way. It's like you're leaving little notes for Google, helping them understand what your content
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is all about. So like organizing our website so Google doesn't get lost. Exactly. The clearer your
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site is, the better Google can, you know, crawl it, index it, and ultimately rank it. All right.
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Making Google's job easier. Got it. But what about like standing out? How do we show Google that we're,
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you know, the real deal, the experts? That's where originality and authority come in. Google loves
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websites that offer fresh perspectives, original research, and those high quality backlinks from
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reputable sources. Backlinks, those are still a thing. They sure are. But the emphasis is on quality
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over quantity now. It's like, would you rather have a recommendation from a trusted friend or from
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some random person on the street? Trusted friend for sure. Exactly. So focus on building relationships
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with other websites in your niche, you know, guestposting, collaborations.ern, those backlinks from
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sites that Google already trusts. All right. Quality over quantity. Got it. So far, we've got awesome
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content, great user experience, and some solid backlinks. Anything else we should be keeping in mind?
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Oh, yeah. We got to talk about core web vitals. So our web vitals hit me with it. These are like
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Google's metrics for how well your website performs, technically speaking. They're looking at things
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like how fast your main content loads, how responsive your site is, and how visually stable it is.
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Visually stable. So like, we don't want things jumping around as the page loads. Exactly. That can be
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super annoying for users. Google wants to make sure people are landing on websites that are like
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well designed and easy to interact with. Makes sense. So how do we make sure our core web vitals are,
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you know, looking good? There are some great tools out there. Google page speed insights,
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lighthouse. They'll analyze your site and give you specific tips. You might need to optimize images,
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try lazy loading or clean up your site's code. Sounds like it's worth getting a little technical.
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It definitely pays off. And while you're at it, do regular technical SEO audits. Check for broken
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links, crawl errors, anything that might be preventing Google from like fully understanding your site.
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Crawl errors. Is that when those Google bots get lost on your site?
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Ha ha. Sort of. It basically means Google can't access or understand your content, which is,
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you know, not good. Google search console can help you find and fix those errors. That's like
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making sure all the pathways on our website are clear. We don't want Google getting lost in the
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digital woods. Exactly. All right. Now let's zoom out a bit. Let's talk about site wide signals.
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Site wide signals. Okay. I'm intrigued. This is about Google's overall impression of your site.
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Not just individual pages, but the whole package. How trustworthy are you? How high quality is your
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site in general? So it's like Google's looking at the whole forest, not just individual trees.
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That's a great way to put it and weak site wide signals. They can really drag down your rankings,
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even if you have some great individual pages. Oh no. So what are some of the key site wide
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signals that Google's like really paying attention to? Right. Well, the helpful content system we
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talked about earlier is huge. If Google sees that your site is consistently putting out low quality
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unhelpful stuff, it's going to hurt your overall reputation. It's like if a restaurant's known for
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serving bad food. People are going to stop going, even if they have one or two good dishes.
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Perfect analogy. And then there are those spam detection systems. If Google sees site wide spammy
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practices, too many ads, hidden text, shady links, it's going to be like, nope, not trusting the site.
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So one bad apple can really spoil the bunch, huh? Yep. Got to maintain those high standards across
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your entire site. And then there's the site diversity system. This is Google's way of making sure
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that search results are diverse. One site shouldn't dominate for every keyword. So even if your website's
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amazing, Google doesn't want to see it hogging all the top spots. Exactly. They want to show users a
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range of perspectives and sources. Makes sense. Keeps things interesting. Okay. So site wide signals are
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clearly super important. But how do we actually like optimize for them? It's a big picture approach,
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but there are concrete steps you can take. First, keep that quality consistent across all your pages.
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Audit your content regularly. Get rid of anything outdated, irrelevant, or just plain bad.
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So like spring cleaning for our websites. Exactly. Out with the old, in with the fresh,
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next, make sure your site has a clear structure. Use categories, subcategories, make it easy for
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users and Google to find what they're looking for. No more digital mazes. Right. And of course,
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stay far, far away from those spammy practices. No keyword stuffing, no cloaking, no buying links
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from those shady websites. Honesty is the best policy. Always. And to really build trust, make sure
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your contact info is easy to find. Highlight your credentials, encourage reviews. Social proof is
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powerful. It's like building your reputation in the real world. Exactly. Yeah. And speaking of the
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real world, security matters online too. Make sure your whole site's using HTTPS. That keeps data
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encrypted and protects user info. So no funny business allowed. No. And lastly, keep things fresh.
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Update your content, add new stuff, keep it relevant and engaging. So SEO is like a garden.
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You got to keep tending to it. That's a great way to put it. The online world's always changing
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and so are Google's algorithms. Yeah. We got to be ready to adapt. All right. Wow. That was a lot.
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Bert, Core Web vitals, site wide signals. We've covered a ton of ground today. Yeah.
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It's fascinating, isn't it? All these intricate systems working behind the scenes. And what's
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really cool is that even with all the tech stuff, Google's main goal is still pretty simple to show
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people what they're looking for. It is. And if we as website owners and content creators keep that
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in mind, we're already halfway there. We just have to, you know, work with Google, not against it.
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I like that. It's a partnership. So as we start to wrap up this deep dive, what's like your biggest
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takeaway for our listeners? What's the one thing you really hope they'll remember? It really is
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amazing to think about all the work that goes into like every single Google search. Right.
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And we only scratch the surface. But I think we like summited Mount Google today. We definitely
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did some serious exploring and the view from up here, it's pretty inspiring actually. It is. It's
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kind of mind blowing to see how sophisticated these algorithms have become. Right. And it makes
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you realize that even with all this complex technology, Google's ultimate goal is still pretty simple.
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Give people what they want, show them the best and most relevant stuff. Yeah, it's like they've given
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us this roadmap, even if it's a little complicated at times. If we focus on quality user experience
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being genuinely helpful, we're on the right path. Exactly. Instead of trying to like outsmart Google,
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we should be working with it. Think of it this way. If you were writing a book, you wouldn't try to like
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trick people into reading it. Huh. Now that would be a weird book. You'd want to write something that
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people would actually enjoy, something that would resonate with them. Something that would like
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provide real value. Exactly. And it's the same with building websites. We got to create something
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that users will genuinely appreciate, something that'll make them want to stick around.
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So as we wrap up this deep dive, what's the one thing you really hope our listeners will take
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away from all this? I think the most important thing is to remember that this is an ongoing journey.
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Google's always changing and we got to change with it. Stay curious, keep learning and don't be afraid
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to try new things. Love that. Embrace the evolution. And speaking of evolving, I'd love to hear from
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you, dear listener. What really stood out to you today? Was it the AI stuff, the importance of user
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experience, or maybe just the realization that Google is actually rewarding those websites that are
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truly helpful? Whatever it was, I hope it inspires you to keep learning and keep optimizing.
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The world of SEO is constantly changing, so stay curious, my friends, and keep exploring.
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Well said. It's been awesome having you on this deep dive with us today. Thanks for having me.
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Always a pleasure to talk all things Google. And a huge thanks to you, dear listener,
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for joining us on this journey. Until next time, happy optimizing.
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Reach out to us at jbuyer.com for comments and questions.
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Follow us at buyer company on social media. And if you'd be so kind, please rate and review us
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in your podcast app.