Google’s Hummingbird: Is It So Dreadful?

Google terms it’s hummingbird as the biggest upgrade to it’s search algorithm since 2001. The Hummingbird algorithm had already rolled out and was only announced in September. So, if it is the largest algorithm, chances are that all of your SEO work would be ruined, as you may believe. Will you have to change everything? Calm down, as you won’t have to change any of your SEO efforts, definitely not if you have been doing what you should be doing.

More details on the Hummingbird could be found in the post by Danny Sullivan, or also you could read the post by Robert Hof. But, if you only want to know what could be done about the hummingbird update, you could skip that part and just read on this post. Does the hummingbird algorithm means that the websites will face catastrophic results? Does it mean that it is the end of SEO? No, SEO has not ended and online marketers or SEO’s don’t have to worry. The guidelines will remain the same. The bottom line is just to have high quality and original content. Signals of the past will continue to stay important. Hummingbird just enables Google to carry on the legacy laid down by the guidelines with better ways.

Absolutely, nothing has changed and if you have original and high quality content, along with a very strong backlink profile, than your website is on the safer side. If the guidelines have been followed, you could be rest assured that the rankings of your website will improve just as the high quality websites had ranked after the Panda and Penguin updates.

Now comes the shocker. Hummingbird has affected 90% of searches worldwide. The search industry world would have blasted as the Penguin’s 3% impact was as good as an earthquake. So it is evident that this algorithm wasn’t meant to impact general search quality. Instead, it focuses on the retrieving of data, how the data is accessed and presented to users and artificial intelligence.

The algorithm is designed to better comprehend concepts as compared to words and the relationship between the concepts. Thus, Hummingbird is more focused on Natural Language Processing. Also, Hummingbird is a way to present and make use of new services to improve the search results, which will tie in nicely with the changes that have been rolled out by Google in the last 2 years.

There were many who had been frustrated by Panda and Penguin updates, and there is no wonder that they will see the Hummingbird negatively. Don’t do that mistake. If you are the best with legitimate ways of link building, than Google will make sure that you are separated from your competitors who are using spammy tactics to get ranked. However, their days will be outnumbered if you are focusing on creating quality content for the searchers. If you have been in the practice of doing this, than the good news is that you won’t have to change anything in your strategy.

Google’s press department has informed that the Hummingbird has been running for a few months and not just the last month. The guidance tips repeated by Google – original and high quality content which would be liked by the web users are highly recommended.