In these past few months Google has been busy with updates and we’ve got the lowdown on their newest algorithm called “Hummingbird.” Hummingbird is a complete rewrite of Google’s search algorithm – Their first rewrite in over 15 years. They rolled Hummingbird out almost a month ago, so the short and quick of it is, if you haven’t seen any traffic changes, then you probably don’t have much to be concerned about from a search engine optimization stand point. Hummingbird is an entirely new algorithm, unlike Panda or Penguin, which merely changed parts of the old algorithm.

This may be a bit confusing, so Danny Sullivan, of SearchEngineLand, broke it down, “Panda, Penguin and other updates were changes to parts of the old algorithm, but not an entire replacement of the whole. Think of it again like an engine. Those things were as if the engine received a new oil filter or had an improved pump put in. Hummingbird is a brand new engine, though it continues to use some of the same parts of the old, like Penguin and Panda.”

Hummingbird combined with Google’s new 100% (not provided) keyword update has delivered quite the beating to keywords. Google’s thinking behind the Hummingbird update is that it will make individual keywords less important, but will make the intent of the search phrase and words more important. Hummingbird will provide more answers to searches rather than results by using inquisitive words like “how,” “why,” “when,” and “where” in addition to other search terms. Searches will become much more conversational in nature indicating that long tail keywords could help drive your business in the future.

What can you do?

The Google Hummingbird update is very mobile focused, so make sure that your site is ready for the mobile world. Google did a post about the importance and increase of mobile searches. Google’s new voice search can pair together several different searches while keeping the context. Setting your site up with a responsive site template will help it perform better in mobile searches. Hopefully you’ve also been creating better content since Penguin and Panda hit, which should boost your long tail keywords, which will then fly well with Hummingbird.

What do you think about all these updates Google’s been pushing forward? Has your searching life became faster and easier? Share you thoughts in the comments.

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