Recently, Google has addressed a few questions that have been going around in the SEO community recently with neural matching and how that’s used. Here, we’ll talk about both, and how they relate to one another.
First is neural Matching, which helps Google better relate words to searches, and it’s an AI based system that’s been running since about 2018. you can use this in the “super synonym “ system, which essentially is the concept of the soap opera effect, which returns pages to this, even if the words aren’t used. Neural matching is used in about 30% of the searches, and it’s not how widely used that matters, but it’s the expansion of such that’s important. This is a new algorithm that while it hasn’t been completely accepted and used widespread, it’s still important.
Then there is RankBrain, which turns the pages you’re looking for into concepts, even if the pages don’t include the exact words that are used within a query, and it’s also an AI based system that’s been running since 2016, two years before Google implemented neural matching, and this also is good because it does take into account the behavior signals, but that’s a theory that’s since been debunked.
Rankbrain focuses on the pages and how it relates to concepts. This is important because if for example, you wanted to take a concept and rank it in a search, this is how you do it. it’s a newer concept, and it does help to make it smarter for those users and makes it better for users too.
With RankBrain, you can better understand how your concepts play into the world of searching, and how it will help with the different concepts and the result of this. In contrast, Neural Matching focuses on words and how they relate to concepts.
Which one is better? The answer is debatable, and it depends on what you’re trying to get out of your searches. For many people, the best one for them is based on which one will help rank their pages, and how to get the most out of relatable searches and the like. One really isn’t better than the other, and one really isn’t on top, but the thing about this is, if you’re looking to figure out the best way to rank your sites, this is the ideal way to do it, and the best one to choose.
When looking to better understand the new systems, you should understand the difference. It is important to note, however, that with this type of system, you’re actually not going to have to worry about it completely affecting your rankings yet. Both of these are very new systems, which have only come out in the last year, so they’re not directly affecting the rankings of your items as of yet. But, if you’re worried about this, you should definitely learn about this system, why it matters, and the results of this as well.
