Here Comes "Hummingbird"

Google has recently introduced their newest search algorithm it uses to sort through information it has when you search and come back with answers. It’s called “Hummingbird” and here’s what we know about it so far.

For those that are not familiar with search engine “algorithm”; the term for what you can think of as a recipe that Google uses to sort through the billions of websites and information it has, in order to return what it believes to be the best and most relevant results.

What’s “Hummingbird?”

It’s the name of the new search algorithm that Google is using in it’s latest edition that is suppose to give the best and most relevant results. The Hummingbird update was different from the other algorithm updates like Panda and penguin, revising core aspects of how Google understands what it finds on the pages it crawls. Google has informed us that the name comes from being “precise and fast.”

With this latest update, Google is claiming that they’re now able to:

1. To better understand the intent of a query and broaden the pool of web docs that may answer that query


2. To simplify how it delivers information


3. To offer a better search experience, because expanding the query and better understanding the relationships between search entities


4. As a consequence, Google may present better SERPs also in terms of better ads, because in 99% of the cases, verbose queries were not presenting ads in their SERPs before Hummingbird.

What can you do to be Hummingbird-friendly?

1. When creating and optimizing your site keep only your audience in mind


2. When performing on-page optimization for your site,  use a clear and not overly complex information architecture


3. Avoiding thin-content issues


4. Topically optimizing the content of the site on a page-by-page basis, using natural and semantically rich language


5. Creating useful content using several formats, that you yourself would like to share with your friends and link to


6. Implementing Schema.org, Open Graph and semantic mark-ups.


7. Make sure that your link building objectives are to topically related sites and/or topically related sections of a more generalist site (News site)


8. Make sure that all the data is shared through your social media channels


9. Overall make sure that you’re not using ANY manipulation tactics and that you only have your audience in mind when writing, building links and sharing information

Below we present the results of Moz’s 2013 Correlation Study. Select one of the 10 categories at the top of the chart to focus on those characteristics.

Here Comes "Hummingbird"