Google Hummingbird Update
All About Google’s Hummingbird Update and the SEO Strategies You Need
There is no doubt that the Hummingbird update of Google has resulted in significant changes in how the giant search engine delivered results for queries.
Back in the days, you can enter your query yet there is still a need for you to go through all the results just to piece together adequate relevant information to find the answers you were searching for. This is especially the case if you have a nuanced query.
To make things worse, there might still be a need for you to enter your query once again with different wording and do it repeatedly until Google finally understands your specific request.
However, when the Hummingbird was rolled out on the 22nd of August 2013, it quickly freed the users from their frustrations.
This particular algorithm changed the way Google interpreted every query as it can now understand queries in a more nuanced and human-like way.
Hummingbird is of big help to the users of Google. In the early days before Hummingbird, the search results of Google would have exact answers to your query. While it might sound appealing, this was not really a good method to get more in-depth answers or information to your questions. These search results, most of the time, are short answers without additional resources or information to make it possible for you to learn more. All of these changed with the introduction of Hummingbird.
The best SEO services in Thailand can serve as your guide so you can use Hummingbird and make it work to your advantage.
The Effects of Google Hummingbird
Even though your website will not be penalized like the rest of the algorithm updates of Google, it will never work to your advantage if you stuff your content with keywords or produce irrelevant, spammy, or low-quality content in the first place.
The Hummingbird update gives Google the chance to serve its users better through addressing not just keyword searchers but also user intent. For this to be possible, Hummingbird scans websites for the following things:
- Low-quality content
Similar to other updates that Google rolled out in the past, namely Penguin and Panda, one of the main purposes of Hummingbird was to sift out websites with low quality to ensure that users won’t spend a lot of time searching for answers and give them the chance to have a better experience in using the search engine.
- Keyword stuffing
One more reason why the Hummingbird update was developed was to have a better perception of what users are searching for according to intent and not on the keywords alone. This is the reason why you have to make sure that you take extra care when choosing your keywords and the SEO of your site must also be optimized so that the web crawlers of Google know what your website is all about in the first place.
If you fail to do a good job with your keywords, descriptions, site map, and many other labels that Google assesses, you will notice that you will have lower rankings compared to those websites with a more optimized SEO plan.
How Does the Hummingbird Algorithm Work?
Unlike the Penguin and Panda updates, Hummingbird didn’t cause more widespread negative effects on sites.
Hummingbird was for the most part received as a rather positive update to the algorithm of Google. The purpose of Hummingbird was not to roll out punishments to websites. Instead, the main goal of this update was to provide users with more nuanced results that are based less on the exact match of keywords and more on the semantic understanding of every query.
Aside from giving users the results with a better match to the implied intent or meaning behind the search they made, Hummingbird also brought the knowledge graphs of Google to a higher level of popularity. Search has become more relevant as Google finally got a better understanding of the subject matter the way humans do and that is in a nuanced manner.
As a result of the razor-sharp understanding of Google of the way users understand keywords and queries, there has been a general reduction in the diversity of the search results of Google. The search engine has gotten much better at understanding what users want and the Hummingbird update was the initial step to deliver search results that are better matched with the query.
Use Google Hummingbird to Your Advantage with a Website Update
Hummingbird is an update that is not based on penalty, which makes it great news for website owners. However, just because there are no penalties doesn’t mean that you don’t need to consider the update every time you edit or build your website.
Keep up with voice search
As more and more users today take advantage of different AI voice search systems such as Alexa, Google Home, and Siri, it is important to consider how you can adapt the keywords you use to these tools. Every time users make a voice search, the approach they use will be more conversational and their queries will be less concise. You have to determine the type of phrases that will be used by your target audience and make adjustments to your content as needed.
Optimize your anchor text
You are the one who decides on your anchor text so make sure you pick the right anchor text. Keywords can be used in your anchor texts yet you have to be sure that your links are also surrounded with the right contextual keywords.
Make the most out of keyword research tools Use synonyms
It can be very tricky to identify the keywords that you will include on your website. The use of a good keyword research tool will be able to help you identify the phrases or keywords that will give your website the kind of traffic that you are looking for and this is traffic that can result in conversions.
Use synonyms
Hummingbird looks for content that can match the keyword entered to the query and the synonyms of that keyword. You should try to broaden your keyword research so you can focus on co-occurring terms and synonyms to diversify all of your pages.