The human algorithm

How Facebook and Google optimisation is increasing human connections

Facebook has recently announced a change to one of its algorithms which will have a sizeable impact on the way brands engage with their audience – namely, Facebook will now prioritise content from close connections over brands.

Why? To make the platform more meaningful and for users to feel more connected to the content they see.

Brands shouldn’t baulk at the change. Instead, it’s an incredible opportunity for brands to transform their content to match – to be more meaningful, to be more engaging, to be… well, more human.

What does this mean? Higher quality posts that focus on creating meaningful reactions and conversations. It’s creating content that’s relevant to your audience, so your brand remains relevant in the eyes of your customers.

From our own experiences working with clients, we know this human connection can be transformative.

Searching human nature

Google’s algorithm has undergone a similar evolution over the past year, optimising its search engine around needs and experience – prioritising content that is valuable and relevant to its users.

This is a marked change from the past, where search engine results were based on SEO keywords alone.

Now, Google uses behavioural algorithms and LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) to increase the quality and relevancy of the search results.

Semantics – the way language is used in searches and the relationship different keywords have with each other – has become a cornerstone of search development. Because it is responding to human behaviour.

So how do brands optimise their content to create better results on Google? Here are 3 quick wins:

1. Understand that people ask questions when they search. So create content that specifically addresses these questions.

2. Adapt to the needs of your audience. A search for a takeaway doesn’t just mean the customer wants a Chinese. It means they’re hungry, they don’t want to go out, they want food now, time is precious, they want to be tempted etc. These are all concepts that have a relationship with the keyword of ‘takeaway’. Which brings us to…

3. Create content around keywords. Semantic SEO is a complex beast, but basically you want your content to be relevant to the question asked, even though it does not have an exact match of the words used in the search. Not only will it improve your content, but improve the way search engines read it.

The landscape of SEO and digital social platforms is changing. Human connections are becoming the driving force behind how brands engage, resonate and drive conversions with their audience.

Isn’t it time your brand transformed the way it connects, too?

 

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