Google has done it again- they’ve updated their search algorithm, nicknaming the newest iteration “Hummingbird.” What does it mean for your rankings?
What’s an Algorithm, Anyway?
If you’ve been following our blog for a while, you’ll see that we throw the word algorithm around a lot. Let’s take a moment to explain just what that means. Google’s search algorithm is essentially a recipe, composed of over 200 ingredients, that it uses to sift through billions of websites and other details to produce the results you see when you hit “search.” They continually update their algorithm to produce the best results.
You may have heard of PageRank- some people think it’s a predecessor of Hummingbird, but it’s actually just one of the ingredients that Google uses in their search recipe. To put it simply, PageRank looks at the links to your website and evaluates their quality based on a range of factors.
The Hummingbird Update
The last time Google did a major overhaul of their search algorithm, it was the “Caffeine Update,” in 2010, and the update before that happened in 2001. All that to say, Google doesn’t do this everyday. Although they’ve come out with updates like Panda and Penguin, they were just revisions on parts of the old algorithm, like replacing your oil filter or timing belt. Hummingbird is a total overhaul, like getting a new engine. While they used some of the existing technology, they also added some new ones and organized them in a different way.
Google has been using the new algorithm since August of this year. They say they chose the name because the changes would make the search engine “precise and fast.”
What Changed?
Google’s given one major example of what they believe is an improvement in user experience. “Conversational search” is a new feature that came with the Hummingbird update. Google realizes that most people use conversational phrases when searching. For example, “Where can I buy organic produce near my house?” Other search engines would find matching keywords like “organic” “produce” and “buy.” After the Hummingbird update, and depending on the information you’ve shared with the search giant, Google could produce much more specific results, showing you specialty grocery stores and farmer’s markets that are close to your home. Google Hummingbird takes every word of your query into consideration, intelligently piecing together a sentence. Although Google has been using this technology, they had been doing it within a very limited sphere of queries. Hummingbird applies it to billions of web pages.
Good, or Bad?
Because Google is so secretive about their updates (they didn’t announce the Hummingbird update for a full month after they deployed it), we can’t say for sure whether the update has actually improved search. We can’t show you before-and-after type results.
But we can say that the Hummingbird definitely hasn’t hurt. No one has complained yet, and that’s a good sign! Google has encouraged search engine optimizers that nothing has changed. As always, good and original content is a key component to your SEO strategy. They simply say that Hummingbird allows Google to process information in a more effective way.
Google has stressed that this major update shouldn’t have a major affect on your traffic, so if you haven’t lost traffic yet, congratulations! If you have… well, the short answer is that it may or may not be due to Hummingbird. Since Google is constantly adjusting their algorithm, it’s always possible to see a shift in your rankings.
If you’re concerned about how Hummingbird may affect your search strategy, talk to your SEO company. Have you seen a change in your traffic, or a change in the results you get when you use Google to search in your every day life?
