https://raynernomics.com/predict-keyword-latent-intent/
Google is constantly adjusting SERPs according to what it thinks is the current latent intent for the keyword
It does this by monitoring and measuring ongoing sentiment
This isn't limited to seasonality and brand, it applies to commercial, short-tail keywords as well
I've been able to find several ways to find out which sentiment Google is most likely to take notice of
I have had success in both reacting to changing sentiment by adjusting my onsite SEO, as well as predicting where future sentiment is going before anyone else - including Google
In doing so, my clients and personal sites have captured the latent intent ahead of keywords, to the tune of €850,000 incremental organic ARR.
Good read
And at the end, he gets to the scary part
QuoteIf Sentiment Can Alter SERPs, Can SERPs Alter Sentiment? Over the last 18 months, I have seen dozens of examples where social media and organic search results haven't followed sentiment, but have dictated it.
So on the one, it's a great idea for how to sell stuff. On the other hand, it's basically what the Russians were doing in the US and France in the run-up to the elections.
For well over a decade affiliates have used the sort of strategies there in terms of shaping perceptions to either drive conversions across from one item to another, or to reinforce a potential risk or perceived weakness to get the initial click & then either lean into it hard to sell something else or write about how it is a non-issue to convert on the item or service which was originally searched for.
When AdWords was far less competitive people would do
"XYZ is a scam"
Don't buy XYZ
Until you have the full story.
or something like that ... and then you click on it & they are like "ah no, its not a scam, click here to buy now"
problem with that method from a brand perspective is for any on the fence sale that converts, it also likely shapes initial brand perception among others who were moved away from converting by seeing the nasty headline & either not clicking through or clicking through and associating the brand with a cheesy neverending sales letter and the sketchy clickbait title.
Deleted.
I was hoping this article was going to show something interesting. But it seems like the author is making leaps to conclusions that aren't supported by the so-called evidence.
The phrase "latent intent" does not make sense to me. It means that there is an intent that is hidden. Seasonal intent is more accurate. The intent is seasonal. It's not hiding.
What this article discusses is ranking fluctuations. But it doesn't ask or answer the key questions:
- How much of the fluctuation is due to link popularity pushing the page up?
- How much of the rankings is due to consumers looking specifically for that company?
- Why is someone looking for Halloween in July? What do they expect to find for that generic term?
QuoteI believe this is evidence that Google will adjust other search results based on perceived user sentiment for other SERP categories, and it is not only limited to user intent changing with seasonality.
Take a look at the screenshot of the search for Tesla's stock name. It shows current events tweets, current events news reports.
Google is surfacing topical content, bursts of topicality. Most importantly, the news on that day was negative. That's not sentiment analysis. It's not adjusting the SERPs based on perceived user sentiment, showing people what they want to see.
Google is simply showing users what is currently trending in the news. Topicality and news is not evidence of Google adjusting "search results based on perceived user sentiment"
That is a conclusion that is not supported by what we all know about topical SERPs. Right?[/list]