Initially, search engines could not understand the user’s intent. The words in the query string were connected to the words in the results pages and the results were displayed to the user. There was no understanding of the user’s intent behind those words.

Today, the goal of search engines is to offer the best possible search experience to their users. And search engine like Google has always been looking for ways to better understand search intent. This includes differentiating SERPs based on expected user intent. Over time, a lot of attention has been paid to understanding user intent and why different users with different intents use similar words in their queries.

Also, Google not only aims to provide the best search results, but also to deliver the results quickly. That means connecting the user with the content that meets their needs in the shortest time. This has an impact on building the SERP layout and your ranking on search engine results pages.

For example, a gentleman looking for an athletic shoe dealer will likely search for local athletic shoe dealers in the area. The address of a merchant in another city or state will not be of much use to you.

Rankings are crucial for brands. A higher ranking means higher organic traffic and better leads. Ultimately, that means higher sales and higher revenue for the business. But that doesn’t mean ranking in the first position on the search page. Instead, being on the “top shelf” of search results or appearing in the snippet space may be more beneficial for the brand.

Page rank algorithm
Previously, Google’s algorithm was based on ‘PageRank’, which in simple terms meant that the more people agree with a site’s value, the higher its credibility. But search algorithms had come a long way since the day the top ten pages appeared as blue links.

custom search
In 2005, the ‘Custom’ search was introduced. take into consideration

• User search history
• IP addresses
• Rent
• Social media activity

Universal Search and Major Algorithm Updates from Google

Google has now integrated your news, video, images and graphics, local and vertical searches into a format known as universal search. In 2010, with Google ‘Caffine’ further updates to the algorithm were made. In 2011, Google introduced ‘Panda’ aimed at thin content. In 2012, with the release of the Penguin update, unnatural bindings were discouraged. Google continually experiments with the number of results, new results, and ad formats. The introduction of snippets again changed the way search was displayed.

Conclusion
Google is not a fixed set of algorithms. Algorithms have continually evolved to understand the complexity behind the string of words in a query. Google is continually changing and experimenting and introducing frequent updates. Adjustments to the search technique are made almost daily, and often significant changes are made as well.

Not all SERPs are the same nor are search queries. With the continuous advancement and changes in Google’s technology for search results, SEO professionals must also move forward and understand that aiming for the number one position is not always possible or even required.