{"id":1533,"date":"2013-10-07T14:48:27","date_gmt":"2013-10-07T14:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aseohosting.com\/blog\/?p=1533"},"modified":"2025-02-28T11:25:07","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T11:25:07","slug":"google-overhauls-its-algorithms-hummingbird-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aseohosting.com\/blog\/2013\/10\/google-overhauls-its-algorithms-hummingbird-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Overhauls Its Algorithms: Hummingbird Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Two of the biggest SEO news stories of recent years concerned the Penguin<\/a> and Panda<\/a> updates to Google\u2019s algorithms, which were aimed at improving search engine results by combating spammy black hat techniques and returning higher quality results at the top of the SERPs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While these changes had a huge impact on SEO, they were just tweaks and modifications of Google\u2019s existing algorithms. It appears that Hummingbird<\/a>, which was silently implemented a few weeks ago, is a much more technically significant, perhaps the most thoroughgoing update since Caffeine in 2010 or even since the algorithms were significantly rewritten<\/a> by Amit Singhal<\/a> in 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hummingbird is estimated to affect 90% of search engine results and is likened by Search Engine Land\u2019s Danny Sullivan to a complete replacement of the engine of search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Hummingbird Update<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is part of Google\u2019s ongoing transition from simple keyword-based search to the promotion of a more conversational mode of interaction. Keywords are limited because they fail to account for user intent and multiple meanings (polysemy). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot of information can be brought to bear in order to figure out user intent, including location data, social media data, semantic analysis, and the relationship between queries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, using keyword-based search, \u201cI need a new iPhone\u201d might bring up a list of search results that include news about a new iPhone release, the Apple site, articles about apps to install on a new iPhone, reviews, Apple rumor sites, \u201cwhat you need to know about the new iPhone\u201d articles, and so on. These results fundamentally fail to understand the intent of the searcher and forces them to rephrase their search or trawl through irrelevant results to find what they need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A more conversational approach would understand the \u201cmeaning\u201d of the sentence and from the meaning figure out the intent of the searcher, enabling Google to quickly return exactly what the searcher needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hummingbird is intended to improve Google\u2019s search results for longer and more conversational search terms that reflect how people would naturally express their desires. It\u2019s part of Google\u2019s move towards Semantic Search as reflected by the Knowledge Graph and especially by Google Now, their mobile search application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Search
Hummingbird Update Explained<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Will changes impact search results?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As usual, Google insists that these algorithm changes don\u2019t impact on their advice for webmasters and SEOs. Google still wants us to create high-quality, informative content and leave the details of how that content finds its way into the SERPs to them. But, although Google is not giving out any technical details, it is possible to speculate about some SEO best practices that should be implemented to take advantage of semantic and conversational search:<\/p>\n\n\n\n