Google Hummingbird Update: A Game-Changer in Search
Google has several search algorithms, one of which is Google Hummingbird Update. A system can interpret an algorithm as a tool used to sort all the information you have when you perform a search and discover the answer. This article will provide a more in-depth discussion of the Google Hummingbird Update.
The search algorithm is the technical term for referring to the guidelines Google uses to sort through billions of web pages and other information and find the answer it deems best. Hummingbird is the name of the search algorithm that Google uses.
What about the PageRank Algorithm in Google Hummingbird Update?
Page ranking is one of the 200 essential parts of Google Hummingbird. Hummingbird pays special attention to page rank. It is important to provide links to specific pages. Another important factor is whether Google believes a page is of good quality.
Google started using Hummingbird on August 30, 2013 and announced the changes on September 26, Google’s 15th anniversary.
Google Hummingbird Update is not just about synonyms, but also context with the ability to judge someone’s intention to perform a search and then determine what they are trying to find. This concept is called semantic search. Hummingbird prioritizes each word in the search, to ensure the entire question, sentence, or conversation is counted.
Hummingbird is also about understanding user intent. Hummingbird’s approach should be an important consideration for anyone planning content. Think about “how” people are looking for something, not just “what” they are looking for. We must build a content strategy to address this need, not merely presenting facts to users.
Also Read: Top 20 Google search engine alternatives
What’s the Meaning Behind the Hummingbird Update?
Like a car made in the 1950s, maybe the engine used is still good, but it may lack the features needed, such as fuel injection or not being able to use certain fuels. When Google switches to Hummingbird, it’s as if Google is replacing the old engine in the car with a new one.
Google made this replacement so quickly that no one noticed the change.
Several times Google has made major changes to its algorithm. The purpose of all this is to assist Google in enhancing its ability to gather information. (indexing).
What about Google Panda and Penguin?
Panda, Penguin, and other updates are part of changes to the old algorithm. But do not completely replace it. Just like a machine. These changes are like the engine receiving new oil or an increase in engine pump power. Hummingbird being a new machine at the time, it still used some of the older parts, such as the Penguin and Panda.
Why do new machines still use old parts? Because some parts are still very good, so there is no reason to replace them. Constant replacements are made to other engine parts.
In general terms, Hummingbird is a new engine made up of existing and new parts. Then styled to serve today’s search demands, not just created to answer needs 10 years ago, with the technology of that time. Read more about Google Panda.
New Search Activity on Hummingbird
“Conversational search” is the biggest example that Google provides. Doing a search via conversation is considered a better way.
“Where is the nearest place from my house to buy iPhone 7s?” Traditional search engines will focus on finding matching words, for example finding pages that mention the words “buy” and “iPhone 7s.” While Hummingbird is more focused on the meaning behind these words.
Google Hummingbird Update can better understand the actual location near your home. Hummingbirds can also understand that the “place” you mean means you want a physical store. Hummingbird knows that the iPhone 7s is a special type of electronic device that certain stores sell.
Knowing all of these meanings will help Google find pages that match those words.
Google claims that Hummingbird pays more attention to search for each word. Also, it ensures to consider the whole question, the whole sentence, or the meaning, rather than just a specific word. The goal is for pages to match all of the search terms, not pages to match just a few words.
Google provides several other examples of before and after Hummingbird implementation that show improvements to Hummingbird.
A search for “prescription medication for acid reflux” used to turn up a list of medications, which may not be the best answer for this disease. Google now provides information about the treatment in general, including whether you need a drug like this as one of the list of search results.
A search for “calories in one slice of pizza hut” used to turn up answers like this, but none of that information came directly from Pizza Hut. Now, Google is bringing out these search results with answers straight from Pizza Hut.
The conditions show, you may be penalized
If you experience the following conditions, it means you have been penalized:
- Traffic decreased
- The SERP ranking does not correspond to the changes on the website
- SERP ranking is not compatible with link building
- You received an “unnatural inbound link’ message from Google stating that you have an unnatural or artificial link.
If your website incurs a penalty, there are some essential things you should be aware of:
- Stop linking immediately. Chances are you don’t need to keep doing link-building activities. In fact, the link-building activity you are doing can cause worse problems if not done properly.
- Traditional SEO activities may not work.
- Drops in traffic are not always related to penalties. With so many changes since 2013, your SEO ranking may not be enough to attract traffic like it was in previous years.
- This is not the fault of your SEO agency. Many examples exist where clients who seem to adhere to best practices still face penalties.
- Reduce the risk of your website being penalized. If there is a possibility that you have been penalized then any further attempts to increase your rating will be in vain. It is therefore important to prevent possible manual penalties before proceeding with SEO.
- This condition can be corrected. Although not an easy thing, but you can do it.
Google Hummingbird and SEO
According to Google, there is no new or different SEO to worry about. The guidelines remain the same, namely; use original, high-quality content. Signals that were important then are still important today, Hummingbird just makes the process better.
If your traffic is dropping, maybe it’s because of Google Hummingbird Update. But Google emphasizes this can also happen because other parts of the algorithm are always changing or improving. No one knows for sure about it.
Importance of using Long-tail Keywords in Google Hummingbird
Because Hummingbird uses phrases instead of keywords, the use of long-tail keywords may become more important in SEO than before. Content with “how-to” information is also valuable when you consider how people use such phrases or their equivalents.
Long-tail keywords are essentially phrases, frequently utilized to optimize content for better search engine results. And this is not a new practice.
Once again, it’s about phrases, so if you have a website selling Spanish language tutoring services, for example, you need to have various phrases like “learn to speak Spanish” and “experienced Spanish language tutor” rather than just “speak Spanish” or “learn Spanish” placed throughout your site.
Hummingbird is smarter than previous algorithm engines, and capable of detecting excessive keyword usage and penalty issues accurately. Competing in the online world might not be easy, but Hummingbird aims to ensure that those who do it correctly will get the reward.
Optimizing Your Website To Be Compatible With Hummingbird Update
First, there are a few questions you need to answer yourself:
When optimizing your site, do you have a clear audience forecast?
When doing on-page optimization, do you follow some of the following SEO practices:
- Use a clear information structure
- Avoid lean content
- Implement the semantic content model
- Optimizing site content on a page-by-page basis, using natural language and semantics and a landing-page-centric strategy.
- Create useful content using multiple formats, that you yourself would like to share with friends and link to them.
What is your link-building goal:
- Better visibility
- Gaining referral traffic
- Topics related to the site or topics related to parts of the site
- Wider visibility
- Improve links
- Organic traffic growth
If your answer is “yes” to any of these questions, then you don’t have to do anything, but keep up the good work that is creative and interesting. You may already be able to see your site ranking in search terms and getting traffic because of your SEO vision.
If there are a few “no” answers, then you need to correct some of the wrong things and follow SEO best practices.
If your answers are mostly “no,” then your site was already in trouble even before the release of Hummingbird. And it won’t get better if you don’t change your way of thinking.
One thing you need to know, Google search will continue to grow, and we will continue to see many changes in the future. Sometimes Google makes this clear through official announcements, but sometimes we have to analyze various case studies and expert opinions to find out which techniques work and which don’t.
There’s no official guide on how you can optimize your website for Hummingbird SEO, but there are a few new things Google is considering to get a page to rank in search results
Here are a few things you need to do to get your website SEO-ready for the Hummingbird algorithm.
Also Read: Get to Know Google Analytics 4 (GA4): A Complete Guide
Use related keywords. Also, use synonyms for the keywords in your posts so Google can understand what information is on your page.
Use LSI keywords that really help Google understand the content of website pages. With keyword optimization changes, you should take advantage of LSI keywords. Along with the main target keyword, make sure you add all the related keywords to make your page more targeted and keyword rich.
The internet is full of spam, and when you become a search engine, you will focus more on rewarding high-quality pages and penalizing low-quality pages to show better results.
Backlinks are also one of the many important ranking factors, even though Google now relies more on social signals.
Most of you probably find it very easy to take advantage of social media by buying “likes” on Twitter, “likes” on Facebook, and so on, from various websites out there that sell them.
You’re not entirely wrong, but Google puts more weight on votes from profiles you can trust than “likes” from random Social Media profiles.
Conclusion
In conclusion, here are some things you can start with and focus on:
- Use LSI keywords to make your content more clearly indexed. You can use LSIGraph to find LSI keywords.
- Apply guest posts from highly authoritative blogs to increase your author ranking.
- Focus on making your blog social media friendly, and getting more shares on social media.
- Focus on building a blog into a blog with high authority and well-known.
If you have additional details about Google Hummingbird, or if you’d like to add an opinion, feel free to share it in the comments below. If you like this article, please share it on Facebook and Twitter.