Google Hummingbird Update: What it means to bloggers

You have probably heard of the previous Google updates like the Penguins and Pandas but do you know that there is a new Google update called Hummingbird? Oh probably you have heard of it too, but do you really know what it means to bloggers? Do you know how to keep you blog in line with this update?

What is Google Hummingbird update in layman’s terms?

Hummingbird update is the latest major search engine algorithm update after the “Caffeine Update” in 2001 and it is termed “Hummingbird update” after the hummingbird known to be fast and precise. Google in a bid to make their search engine better has almost totally rewritten their search engine algorithm which is the code that sorts through the tons of web pages on the internet in order to return the best answers when a search is performed.

What is changed in SEO since the release of the Google Hummingbird update?

Google in its new algorithm – the Hummingbird now takes into consideration all the words in a search query as against some few keywords in the previous algorithm. Google Hummingbird update allows the algorithm to understand the entire phrase queries as compared to the one or two keywords, and more about the search intent.

Google searches will now focus on semantics, not keywords as it used to. Google has noticed that more people search for things on its search engine mostly in a conversational manner. An example is a question like “What can I do to rank high in search engine other than SEO?”

The former Google search would’ve easily focused on using some keywords like “Search engine”, “SEO” etc in returning results, but Google has said in a bid to return the best results every word in the search query must be considered as well as the meaning of the question. Each word is considered to have same impact as the others so Google is able to go beyond keywords to considering and using all the words in the sentence to perform its searches and return only results of sites that best meets all the words searched for.

Does that mean that Keyword Analysis is dead?

The answer is a NO! Keywords will still play an important role into how Google sees our contents, keywords simply give the search engines ideas what our content is all about, and it does not reflect how we speak.

In terms of content creation as bloggers we simply need to adjust how we think of keywords, we should mostly use long-tail keywords more often in a sequence we anticipate people could use it in searches.

Does that mean that SEO is dead?

No, it has simply made SEO better. Now every webmaster or blogger stands a better chance of ranking high for any piece of article that provides the best information on any subject, now all those half-baked bloggers who simply dive into topics they know nothing about will have to work hard to outrank you that carry out thorough research before writing and ensuring your post covers all the needed areas and provide all the information anyone could want from it.

Google will not have to look for pages that have a certain number of a particular keyword to return results or rank web pages anymore.

So what does Google Hummingbird mean to bloggers?

If you were affected by this update then you have to do things differently. You should better look at the SEO strategies you have been using; do you just use keywords without giving your readers the correct quality to your contents? You don’t have to focus on just keywords alone anymore, consider the general quality and meaning of your contents.

Ensure to provide the best quality for your contents, publish original, unique and high relevance contents. Ensure your contents answer the questions/needs of your audience. The Google Hummingbird update will allow bloggers even greater freedom since the search engines will even understand better now, so if you are looking for ways to fool the search engines you should know they are even smarter now. Google do not bother about keywords in title tags, description, body of content anymore, they now take into consideration the whole meaning of your content in returning results that best fits the searched query.

Now your contents really have to answer something, your content should really give something to your readers. Now when you produce contents try to anticipate the longer queries people are likely to search for and publish contents that clearly answer such queries.

How can I rank high in this Hummingbird era?

I just want to add that for your content to see the first page of Google now that the Google Hummingbird update has been released you need to do the following;

1. Use Synonyms: if you have noticed when you search for something in Google it returns results that contains the terms you are looking for as well as similar terms, Google now knows that words could have similar meanings with another, so to increase your chances of ranking high, take advantage of similar words in your contents.

2. Write in conversational manner: Since we now know that people search for things on the search engines as they will normally ask questions, tailor your content to meet their need in the same format, answer their questions in your content.

3. Use long-tail keywords: Since Google search has moved to semantics, ensure to use likely long-tail keywords you anticipate people would use in searches. That way you will have a chance to strike same words choices and query meaning they are searching.

I hope in laymen’s terms I have explained what Google Hummingbird update is all about and what it means to bloggers, I have also shared some tips that will ensure you rank high in search engine even now that the Hummingbird update is here.

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