Google Hummingbird Update: Relevance, Rewards and SEO Best Practices

Google Hummingbird Update is a major algorithm change that Google introduced in 2013. It was designed to improve the quality and relevance of Google's search results, especially for natural language queries and conversational search. Hummingbird enabled Google to understand the meaning and context of a query, rather than just matching keywords to web pages.

What is Google Pigeon Update and When Did It Take Off?

Google's Hummingbird Update was implemented in August 2013 and announced one month later, in September 2013. It was the biggest change to Google's algorithm since 2001, and it affected about 90% of all searches worldwide.

Hummingbird Update: Google’s Secret Weapon for Better Search Quality

Google rolled out Hummingbird update to provide better answers to users' queries, especially those that are complex, long, or conversational. Hummingbird was also a response to the growing use of mobile devices and voice search, which require more natural and intuitive ways of searching.

Hummingbird was not just an update, but a complete rewrite of Google's core algorithm. It incorporated some existing features, such as PageRank, Panda, and Penguin, but also added new ones, such as semantic search, knowledge graph, and entity recognition.

Hummingbird aimed to make Google's search engine more human-like, by understanding the intent and meaning behind a query, rather than just matching keywords to web pages. It also looked deeper at the content and structure of web pages, to find the most relevant and useful information for users.

Hummingbird Update: How It Rocked Websites and SEOs

The impact of Google's Hummingbird update varied depending on the site and the query. Some sites saw no change or even an increase in their traffic and rankings, while others saw a decrease or a loss of visibility.

The sites that benefited from Hummingbird update were mostly those that provided high-quality, relevant, and original content for their users. These sites also used natural language and conversational tone in their content, and structured their pages with clear headings, subheadings, bullet points, and images.

How Hummingbird Update Rewarded Quality Content and Penalized Web Spam in SEO

The sites that suffered from Hummingbird update were mostly those that used low-quality, spammy, or duplicated content on their pages. These sites also relied heavily on keyword stuffing, exact match domains, or link schemes to rank for certain queries.

The SEOs who were working on sites that benefited from Hummingbird update had to keep up with their best practices and focus on creating user-friendly and engaging content. They also had to optimize their sites for mobile devices and voice search, and use schema markup and rich snippets to enhance their pages.

The SEOs who were working on sites that suffered from Hummingbird update had to rethink their strategies and tactics. They had to remove any web spam techniques from their sites and focus on creating high-quality and relevant content. They also had to use natural language and semantic keywords in their content, and build natural and authoritative links.

Hummingbird Update: How to Stay Ahead of the Game and Rank Higher

Google's Hummingbird update is still relevant in 2023 for SEOs, as it shows that Google is constantly evolving its search engine to provide better answers to users' queries. Natural language processing and conversational search are still important trends in SEO, as more users are using voice assistants and smart devices to search online.

Therefore, SEOs need to be aware of Google's quality guidelines and avoid using any web spam techniques that could harm their sites or their clients' sites. They also need to create high-quality content that answers users' questions and provides value for their niche. They need to use natural language and semantic keywords in their content, and structure their pages with clear headings, subheadings, bullet points, images, videos, etc.

Mobile and Voice Search Optimization with Schema and Snippets

SEOs also need to optimize their sites for mobile devices and voice search, by using responsive design, fast loading speed, secure connection, etc. They need to use schema markup and rich snippets to enhance their pages with additional information, such as ratings, reviews, prices, availability, etc. They need to build natural and authoritative links from relevant sources that can boost their credibility and trustworthiness.