What’s The Algorithm Up To?

Ah, the algorithm: The nebulous buzzword that the average human thinks is basically computer magic. It’s not magic. It’s not even out of your control! You are the algorithm. We all are! It’s people. What we look at, what we consume, what we add to the discourse on the internet. That’s the algorithm. 

In a recent sitting of the House Science, Space, and Technology committee of Congress, California Democrat Zoe Lofgren questioned Google CEO Sundar Pichai about why a photo of Donald Trump came up as the first result for a Google Image search of the word “Idiot.” 

People Make the Algorithm 

It’s hilarious, of course, but Sundar’s response was perfect! People are the algorithm. Google (the search engine, NOT the company) isn’t inherently political; people are. 

The example result brought up in that committee is called Google Bombing and it’s not the first time it’s happened. In fact, several years ago, when you searched the word “liar,” Google showed you former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The search term “miserable failure” once brought you to the White House’s bio of George W. Bush. 

So, as Sundar explains to Rep. Lofgren, search engines are designed to answer people’s questions by scraping through tons of internet data and since computers can’t read images and video, they have to rely on text to provide context to searchers. 

Let me explain: You watch a horror movie in the lead up to Halloween, Netflix is going to add a stream of similar options to your queue for future watching. Watch enough of them and soon you’ll never have that new romantic comedy show up on your main page of results when you login. It’s not Netflix that thinks you don’t like that kind of content, it’s the choices you made. 

How Does It Do That?

Let’s say you post a video or photo raving about a product you created or love. What makes that video or photo appear in Google search results or on the For You page on TikTok? A LOT of things! 

One is what you put in the caption. People naturally search for keywords related to their interests and expect an answer that is related to that search. When you regularly engage with content with similar themes, your account becomes associated with those topics.On social media, there’s also the hashtags you use - depending on the platform, as we know they just aren’t as effective anymore - people can group their interests around certain hashtags. This means if you wanted to reach a person with specific interests you could use hashtags related to them.

Another aspect of the algorithm is even related to what your video or photo files are called when you save and upload them! Product X Review.MP4 is going to work a heck of a lot better than PXL_20251013_181311888.MP.jpg

You Are What You Search

The preferred websites being fed to you when you search are even based on your previously identified preferences, sites you’ve visited before, or are associated with. For example, if you’re a home renovator and you Google “home renovators,” you WANT your website to appear at the top of the search results. But because the search engine tries to be helpful, clearly you don’t want your own website as you already know about that one. It thinks you need someone else to renovate your home and serves up your competitors instead.

Locations have become increasingly important too! Since so much internet use is through your phone, which is equipped with GPS, you’ll be served more local content that’s related to your interests, rather than content that’s farther away. 

When it comes to getting visitors to your website, you can add meta data to your pages. Name your photos well, but also add descriptive alt tags to your images - all these things feed the beast that is Google. Or Bing. Or Duck, Duck, Go. Again, computers cannot “see” photos, so we have to provide the textual information to allow them to connect your information with the person asking for it. 

Where You Are Counts

Locations have become increasingly important in the digital, algorithmic world too! Your internet provider has your address connected with your service, of course, so in addition to your interests, your address is used to offer you more relevant information too. In addition, since so much internet use is through our phones, which are equipped with GPS, we’re served content that’s local too. Think about your last search for "restaurants near me,” that’s the algorithm doing its job! 

Automatically generated closed captions - that’s just more text for the internet to scrape for context about who you are and what you want when you head into the digital world. 

By definition, an algorithm is a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer. We all joke that your phone knows what you’re talking about, but in reality, your interests and preferences are giving search engines and apps all they need to know to serve your needs or solve your problems. 

Make the Algorithm Work For You

So, can you game the system to make the algorithm work for your content or business? Yep! 

Maybe you want your video or photo to go viral. First, use all that you’ve learned above to optimize that piece of content. Next, you’ve got to get people to start sharing it like crazy. The more shares, the more clout, the more likely it’s going to take off. Remember, it’s PEOPLE who share silly things like raccoons having a party on your patio over and over again. This means the more extreme, relatable, or ragebaiting the content is, the more impact it's going to make - for better or worse. Just like a really great or really bad memory sticks out in your mind better than a mundane one, so does the content that gets a big emotional reaction.

It's only human, after all. 

As for making your advertising campaign or product (or even political opinions) jump off the internet and into the hearts and minds and homes of other people, you can also dig super deep into consumer behaviour, identify what makes them tick, and pay to get in front of them with digital ads.

Turns out, all those ADHD videos in your feed, might actually be because you act like a person with ADHD on the internet.

Wanna Know More?

So what's the lesson here? The big-I Internet is absolutely spying on you. But only because you're showing it exactly who you are! And, of course, two can play that game! 

If you need a little more help navigating the algorithm, get in touch to find out how we can use our expert knowledge of the internet and how it works, as well as consumer archetypes, and data you might not even know you have to use the algorithm to reach out to others as much as it’s reaching out to you!