As a result of technological progress, it has become possible to perform the necessary operations without leaving home. Now you can even work through the Web, and many have long felt good in this field. The most common way to make money online is to create your own website or blog. Thanks to the advertisement placed on the resource, its owner can make a good profit. True, this scheme only works when the site or blog is on the first pages of the search. Simply put, the income level of its owner depends on the number of visitors to the resource.
And the first thing you need to know when embarking on such activities is how search algorithms work, in particular the algorithms of Yandex, the largest search engine on the Runet.
What are search algorithms?
Search algorithms, also known as Yandex algorithms, are a kind of mathematical formula where the user's query is unknown. The search robot solves this formula: substitutes different values for the unknown and selects the most suitable one.
If we simplify the definition, we can express it as follows: a search algorithm isa special program that takes a “problem”, in our case, a search query, and gives it a “solution”, that is, it shows a list of sites with the information the user needs.
Solving the "problem", the algorithm looks through all the keywords on the pages, sorts the received data and generates the search results that the user needs. Thanks to the search algorithm, robots can analyze the content of each resource. Based on the information received, the position of the site in the search results is determined.
What affects the search algorithm?
As you can see, the search results for the same query in different search engines are different. So, the Yandex algorithm is significantly different from Google. For example, for the purity of the experiment, we will open two tabs: one search engine from Yandex, the other from Google. If you enter the query “how to go to Japan for permanent residence” in the search bar, you can see that the first site in the Yandex search results is in second place in the Google search results.
Search engine algorithms are under strict secrecy, they analyze the same site parameters, but no one knows which ones they pay more attention to and which ones they pay less attention to. Even SEOs ask this question.
Parameters that algorithms work with
As already mentioned, Yandex's search algorithms are guided by certain parameters. In general, they can be divided into two groups. Some parameters are responsible for the semantic content of the resource, they can be conditionallycall it "text". Others characterize the technical characteristics (design, plugins, etc.). It is conditionally possible to designate them as "engineering-functional". For clarity, it is worth breaking all the parameters into groups and placing them in a table.
| "Text" | "Engineering and Functional" |
| Resource language | Site age, domain name, location. |
| The popularity of the topic and the amount of text on each page. | Number of pages and their "weight" |
| Ratio of keywords to total text. | Availability of style solution |
| Quote count and content uniqueness level | The number of searches for a particular keyword and the frequency of information updates. |
| Font size and type | Presence of multimedia files, frames, flash modules and meta tags |
| Number of links in text | Style of headings, subheadings and COP |
| Keywords match the directory section where the site is registered. | Comments in code, page type, duplicates |
Ranking
These parameters play a key role in ranking algorithms. The ranking algorithm is a way to find out the value of each page. Simply put, ifthe site has good performance in all these parameters, then it will be higher in the search results.
Yandex's ranking algorithms change almost every year. The main ones are named after cities. The name of the new search concept begins with the last letter of the name of the previous algorithm. So, the search engine created algorithms:
- "Magadan" (2008).
- "Nakhodka" (2008).
- "Arzamas" (2009).
- "Snezhinsk" (2009).
- "Konakovo" (2010).
- "Obninsk" (2010).
- Krasnodar (2010).
- Reykjavik (2011).
- "Kaliningrad" (2012).
- "Dublin" (2013).
- "Nachalovo" (2014).
- "Odessa" (2014).
- "Amsterdam" (2015).
- "Minusinsk" (2015).
- "Kirov" (2015).
Besides them, three more Yandex search algorithms have been released in the last two years. And also there are special algorithms AGS-17 and AGS-30, the main task of which is to look for resources that do not meet the requirements. Simply put, these algorithms look for sites with non-unique content and an abundance of keywords, and then apply pen alties to them. And now a little about each algorithm.
Algorithms 2008-2011
In two years, Yandex has created four search algorithms thatqualitatively different from the previous, initial versions. In 2008, for the first time in search ranking, they began to take into account the uniqueness of content ("Magadan"). For the first time, a new system was introduced that took into account the presence of stop words ("Nakhodka").
In 2009, the Yandex search algorithm began to take into account the user's region, a new classifier of geo-dependent and geo-independent queries appeared. The regional formula for selecting answers ("Arzamas") has been significantly improved. The issue has changed a lot, 19 new regional ranking formulas have appeared and the geo-independent ranking criteria have been updated ("Snezhinsk", "Konakovo").
In 2010, the algorithms of Yandex search engines actively developed new formulas for geo-dependent and geo-independent queries ("Obninsk", "Krasnodar"). 2011 was marked by the beginning of the creation of personalized issuance, the language preferences of Internet users began to be taken into account.
Search ranking 2012-2014
In 2012, the personalization of search results has changed significantly: they began to take into account the interests of users in the long term, the relevance of frequently visited sites (Kaliningrad) increased. In 2013, the Yandex algorithm already skillfully adjusted search results to the interests of a particular user during a session, taking into account short-term interests ("Dublin"). In 2014, the consideration of links for commercial requests was removed when ranking answers ("Starting").
Amsterdam, Minusinsk, Kirov
In the search results, a card with information began to appear next to the result when you hover over the link ("Amsterdam"). For the first time, the task of the Yandex algorithm was to lower the ranking of resources that had many SEO links. The presence of an extensive link profile has become the main reason for the loss of positions. The "Minusinsk" algorithm of "Yandex" began to massively remove SEO links, a little later the accounting of link factors was returned, but only in the Moscow region.
In the third algorithm this year, randomization of relevant queries was introduced. Simply put, when issuing queries, you could sort them by date, popularity, or region ("Kirov").
Vladivostok and Palekh
The Vladivostok algorithm, which began functioning in early 2016, began to take into account the adaptability of resources to mobile devices, and the results of mobile search results increased.
The Palekh algorithm, which was presented in November, deserves special attention. Its main essence is to compare the meaning of the question and pages using neural networks - artificial intelligence that simulates the work of the human brain. Thanks to this, the issuance of rare requests has increased. Initially, this algorithm worked exclusively with page titles, but, as the creators say, over time it will learn to “understand” the text itself. The algorithm works as follows:
- The system takes statistics into accountmatches the request and the title, thereby increasing the accuracy of the search results.
- Working with such correspondences is called "semantic vector". This approach to search ranking helps to find answers to the rarest queries. An algorithm that has learned to understand the text can produce results in which there will not be a single similar word with the query, but, nevertheless, they completely match each other in content.
To put it simply, Yandex tried to create a "smart" technology that searches for answers based not on keywords, but on the content of the text itself.
Baden-Baden
The new Yandex algorithm, released in March 2017, has become a real breakthrough in the search ranking system. In search results, sites with useful, understandable and readable content began to appear in the first place. The main task of this algorithm is to provide the user not with the text that matches the request, but with the necessary information.
During the work of Baden-Baden, resources with re-optimized and low-quality information have decreased in search results. The experts were sure that the positions of online stores would fall, as there were too many repetitive words and product descriptions, which were practically the same. But the developers of the algorithm took into account that there are specific topics where the repetition of cognate words is inevitable. So what texts are subject to sanctions? It is better to see this with an example.
Text that does not match the search algorithm
Earlier, search robots brought to the top positions resources that contained keywords. But the texts on such sites often look like a set of queries diluted with “water” of low-quality texts. And the example below is proof of that:
Nike launches countless sports products every year. Sneakers, sneakers, boots, Nike suit, Nike T-shirt, shorts, Nike tracksuit, pants, Nike sweatpants, soccer balls - these and other products can be found in any company store. Nike women's, men's and children's collections convey the main theme of the brand. Nike apparel is unique in that each product captures the spirit of the brand.”
Such texts are of no use, they are nothing more than caskets with key queries. This is where the new algorithm fights. Content with low quality will certainly lose its positions. There are three criteria for low quality content:
- Lack of logic in the text.
- Lots of keywords.
- Presence in the text of unnatural phrases that appeared due to direct occurrences of keywords.
Of course, no one canceled SEO optimization, the basic principles of search engines remain the same. But the approach, in which there are 15-20 key queries per 1000 characters, has long been outdated. The "Baden-Baden" algorithm focuses on the quality of the content.
Search results
An important place in the process of finding information isrelease algorithm. A SERP is a page of results that match a specific query. The algorithm for issuing "Yandex" is designed in such a way that it can calculate the probability of finding the most relevant answer and generate an output of ten resources. In the case when the request is complex, then 15 answers can be found in the output.
| 1. Resource language |
| 2. Topic popularity and amount of text per page. |
| 3. The ratio of keywords to the total amount of text. |
| 4. Number of quotes and content uniqueness level |
| 5. Font size and type |
| 6. Number of links in the text |
| 7. Match keywords to the section of the directory where the site is registered. |
In fact, it works like this: if the algorithm is "familiar" with the request and there is a highly relevant answer for it, then an output of ten answers is formed. In the case when the search engine cannot find such answers, 15 links will be presented in the search results.
Here, in fact, all the basics of how search algorithms work. In order for the site to feel good, it is necessary to fill it with high-quality, informative and readable content in search results.
