Google Hummingbird is the latest upgrade of the search engine giant to its algorithm. You may be wondering why Google had to release a new one despite recently launching Penguin and Panda. For one, each of those upgrades has a different function. Google Hummingbird is the algorithm itself while Penguin and Panda are parts of that algorithm. Think of your laptop as the algorithm. The release of Penguin and Panda is equivalent to increasing your RAM and hard drive to help improve the efficiency of your laptop. Buying an entirely new laptop is the upgrade to Google Hummingbird.
Google’s primary objective has always been one and the same and that is to provide the best possible search engine results. The Hummingbird takes it a notch higher as it goes beyond keywords and moves toward the context of the search. Its human-like analytics generate more relevant results by understanding a user’s intent. It’s all about conversational search and producing the best results from it. So how can you optimize Hummingbird for your online marketing efforts? Here are three important things you need to know:
Google’s “Golden Rule” still stands.
Google’s press department told Forbes magazine that its hard fast rule still remains, “Our guidance to webmasters is the same as always — we encourage original, high-quality content, since that’s what’s best for web users.” Simply put, your online marketing efforts live and die by the quality of your content. From your copywriting to social media management, your content should be valuable to your target market. It should be informative, relevant, and engaging. In fact, Eric Enge of Copyblogger said the Hummingbird is beneficial for “serious content creators.” This is because they will always provide something helpful to its users—which brings us to our next point.
Address a need.
Google Hummingbird is semantics at work. With 15 years worth of database, improved indexing, and increased Knowledge Graph, Google is finding its way to understanding the mind of users. With queries becoming more complex and long-tailed, you need to answer them through your content. Use educational terms such as how, when, what, and why. Search engine questions often begin with these so make sure you’re able to incorporate them. You can accomplish this more effectively if you know your target market well. Knowing their behavior, interests, and needs will help you come up with content that they might be looking for. See to it that you also mention navigational words like your location, brand, and products or services you offer. Transaction words will also bring in more traffic such as find, hire, and buy.
Be the authority.
The quality of a content is validated by its substance and authorship. Not only do you need a useful content but also the credibility to back it up. You can start by signing up for Google Authorship. This will link your content to your Google+ profile thus establishing your online identity. Your posts will then be recognized as coming from a reputable source. Expand your content, make it more in-depth than the others, and be on top of the latest trends or releases in your industry. Produce content consistently by building on certain topics and exploring different forms of content such as video blogs, webinars, and interviews with other industry leaders.
Google Hummingbird’s main goal is to match user inquiries the best way possible. It looks for content that answers user inquiries accurately. Hummingbird is all about pushing quality. It does not disqualify poor content but it prioritizes the good ones. This hybrid algorithm encourages conversational searches which result in a better user experience. Your online marketing efforts will benefit greatly from Hummingbird if you are known for high quality, original content. Your online reputation will also be strengthened as Hummingbird bumps up your valuable content in search engine rankings. Working with this new algorithm instead of fearing it will open a lot of possibilities for your online marketing. It’s just a matter of challenging yourself to produce superior content in every marketing platform you use.
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