Details of Google’s new algorithm have recently been revealed, and it looks like they’re taking a leaf out of the SBM book – in name, at least.

Fetchingly dubbed SMITH, the new algorithm is said to be a supplement to Google’s earlier text matching algorithm, BERT, which appeared in 2019. BERT enhances the search engine’s accuracy in identifying word meanings in the context of sentences. Once launched, SMITH will take this a step further, aiming to understand longer passages of text in the context of a whole document.

What does this mean for SEO? It’s all speculation at this point, but SMITH may mean that pages with high-quality content are increasingly likely to come out on top, as Google develops a greater understanding of how words create meaning.

Speaking of quality content, the SBM gang is back from Christmas break and getting in step with 2021.

What will the new year bring for the digital media landscape? Only time will tell… but given how busy our team has been just in the first couple of weeks, we already know it’s going to be a big one!