Are Algorithms Neutral
In the online world, algorithms have a major impact for folks searching for information and for folks marketing both products and information.
They control much of what we see and what we get to see or not see online. Some content is elevated and some content is marginalized. From observation each query put to a search engine does not necessarily produce the right answer, but more the best available answer.
The question that pops to mind is;
Are search algorithms neutral ?
In our everyday world
2+3 = 5
Which to my limited thinking this would be a neutral answer, the right answer.
In the world of algorithms, it is slightly different,
2+3 can = + 7
or for that matter
2+3 can = - 7.
Depending on how the created or designed it does carry a bias, they do impact and as marketers, it is one of our undertakings is to try to evolve an understanding, in order to create a neutral pegging so to speak. When we sit down and think about it one never really understands or knows the intent behind enterprise algorithms, we can scratch the surface and hopefully apply and benefit from the knowledge we gain.
Every tweak or new element added to algorithms can have a major impact on the user's experience or ability to carry out marketing activities as they could before.
It is the world we live in, fast-paced and always changing it is kind of hard to go slow paced.
A man sitting beside the river thought.
The argument can be placed that enterprise algorithms are designed to aid the user to find the correct information and enhance their user experience.
The jury may be out on that one.
So what do they like the most of all, well they love conversation especially if it is peer to peer, humans, communicating with each other creating engagement. So one of the best ways to carry favor could be to create content that creates conversations. That natural flow of folks just communicating ideas and sharing.
On the flip side of the coin, machines seem to dislike talking to other machines especially if they think that the other machine is trying to pull the wool over its eyes. They don't seem to like that at all, using a machine to communicate on your behalf is one of the surefire ways to get your account closed or banned, as many marketers have discovered.
The basics that are done well will work very well, that seems to be a constant formula in the world of online marketing. The basics will help to create a solid foundation on which to build, here at Wealthy Affiliate we are blessed with a huge knowledge base which we can tap into with resources to match now with the integration of the Jaaxy keyword research platform we are in a very good position to be able to position content by the selection of keywords that enable us to place a foot on the rungs of the Google search algorithm.
We all have perceptions so it is fair to expect that algorithms have certain perceptions as well, the key for us is creating content that aligns itself with some of their predisposed views.
Happy days.
Alex
Recent Comments
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Hi, Carol, I guess it is, just thinking about algorithms and how they sit in terms of our online endeavors. thank you for reading and commenting much appreciated.
Hi, Bob thanks for commenting, one of the things that attract me to WA, there are so many different views and opinions, we can definitely learn much from our involvement.By sharing ideas new ideas are born and new ways of doing things are created.
Our goal should always be to create quality, engaging content and conversations. What do people want? How can we best deliver?
How Google determines whether or not you’re providing quality and conversation happens through many complex evaluations. And it’s not all as dry as you might imagine - their AI is watching and learning from how people use your page, and how long they dither on your site.
When people stay longer and wander through more of your content for instance, there’s a sign that you’re good at giving readers what they need and want. If they drop in and out really quickly... not so much.
So yes, your ranking is a result of how your content and design is evaluated against numerous metrics. But so too, is your visitor’s behaviour!
A number of users at WA have experience using services such as Hotjar, where you get to record and view heat-maps and visitor mouse behaviours during a session. You can use these sorts of services to better understand what more you might do to be of service to your guests, if you can see them getting stuck or bored in the same places, for instance.
Whatever conclusions you come to, the decisions that follow should be about improving user experience. That’s what the algorithms you’ve discussed are all about, too.
Hello, Ivy, thank you for your wonderful response I really appreciate you taking the time. I have to agree with you creating content that is for and about the audiences that we are trying to engage with is the goal that we all strive to attain.
Across the online landscape, platforms design, create, manage and enhance algorithms to best manage and regulate their user's environs. It is interesting back in January Facebook changed their algorithm in terms of fan and business pages, it has altered the landscape it has changed the ability of fan pages to reach their audiences organically. This intern will cause folks to think of new ways to create and disseminate their content to fall in with these changes.
There are so many metrics involved and as you say they are not dry but rather they are living and breathing, sometimes it may go beyond the linear terms of thinking only in terms of the content. Just a thought
Hiya Alex, thanks for your reply!
Facebook is a different creature, I'll return to that in a moment.
So far as Google goes, there is not one, but hundreds of algorithms to determine relevance and quality. So many. At the heart of it all, It's just a sorting mechanism.
If all comers played fair, we might not see as many updates to the sorting process. But the fact is, that the landscape and its challenges are always evolving, and the sifting process needs to be more nuanced and refined in response.
As for Facebook, they are adapting to remain relevant to their users for other reasons. They have the resources to understand and project trends that may favour or harm them. They don't want to lose market the way MySpace did. If they don't adapt to user and market trends, they will.
They are already losing audience because meaningful conversation has not been as prioritised as advertising. And the scandal of accepting money for advertising from just about anyone has also bitten them unexpectedly.
So, what will happen is that there will be fewer ads, but the few FB ads that go up will cost you much more dearly than they have in the past. This will affect anyone who's made big use of FB campaigns. It will be harder to burn money on ad testing and scaling experiments if you're a small to medium online business. That's for sure.
Hi,
Yes, a large budget will help secure quick exposure. Small and medium businesses; sole traders... don’t have such budgets. They are reliant on free or cheap services, and organic traffic.
This is what I like about this place. I think the strength of the WA course is that it teaches its students sound practices for obtaining such long-term organic traffic, rather than depending on a budget for paid traffic. And even if you’re too big to fail, it’s not a sound business strategy to just pay for traffic forever, unless you like bleeding money.
To want to blog for a living, and apply these principles, is a slow-burn activity that will not suit anyone looking for instant results. But it is sustainable, and the course (whether or not anyone realises) shows a great awareness of the current SEO environment.
So - without needing to understand the reasoning and methods of the data science that builds search engine rankings, students here only have to patiently apply the lessons to see progress with their projects.
I like that!
One doesn’t need to want to be an affiliate marketer to benefit from the approach to organic traffic being taught here, either. For those who have existing businesses on or offline, these methods also present a useful additional means of amplifying what they’re already doing.
Back to paid services: even with a big budget, nobody is too big to fail. Even after spending up big and claiming the best rankings, that can all be stripped away if people don’t play nicely. It’s happened. :/
That is so true, on the flip side of the coin it can be fun learning to navigate our way around the algorithms that we encounter on our affiliate marketing journey.
Much can be said about learning to go with the flow, they are what they are and the best course of action is to work with them. best wishes.
Great insight! Participating with WA is an eye-opener and in good WA style you have done the same for me when it comes to thinking about algorithms.
Good job!
Hi Juanita, thank you for stopping by to read this post, and for your kind words. Algorithms affect our daily lives and also our marketing world, it is always good to stop and think sometimes, all the best.
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Interesting. Not sure understanding will help to improve rankings.
Hi, Steven thank you for stopping by, for us folks that are engaging in online marketing the game changes we are sellers and promoters. That process is not limited to one aspect, marketing is a cumulation of many aspects.
I see a lot of folks having issues with the platforms that they are attempting to engage with, developing an understanding of how the various enterprise platforms work, which at the coal face is governed by an algorithm can definitely help us to navigate our way around and also get the maximum benefits and results.
The thought behind this post was are these algorithms neutral or are they inherently bais. reflecting on that question can definitely help us to define our engagement, it may seem simple but I think that it works.
Everywhere we promote or display our content has a slightly different set of rules of engagement, being aware can help us both to stay relevant but also stay ahead of or with the competition so to speak.
Hi Alex, thanks for your reply.
I understand and agree but it may be impossible to understand it from the algorithm point of view because we may not have all and/or correct info. We can't assume that they i.e.the great oz Google will be transparent and/or honest with their process. Where does that leave us?
I think we need to track the success of our sites and posts and use that data to reverse engineer what works and what doesn't work.
If you've been following the news lately there is a lot of concern about the size and the way the big 4 (Facebook, Apple, Google, and Amazon) are controlling the net. They are limiting creativity and innovation. The natural response of any system is to protect itself and continue growth often at any cost. And we are the less for their greediness. Especially those of us who are trying to create a business on the ground they own (sorry, for the rant).