Google’s Hummingbird update changed how the search engine produced results for a query. Before it, you could type a question and still have to sift through the results, piecing together enough relevant information to get your answer, especially when the query was nuanced. At worst, you rewrote the query in different words, again and again, until Google finally understood what you were asking for.
Once Hummingbird rolled out, users got frustrated far less often. The algorithm changed how Google parsed a query and read it in a more human way.
Launch Date: August 22, 2013
Hummingbird made Google much more useful for searchers. Before it, Google’s results answered your query exactly as typed. That sounds good, but it was a poor way to get in-depth information or real answers to your questions. Often the results were short answers with nothing more to read and no resources for learning about the topic. Hummingbird changed that.
What Hummingbird looks for on your site
Hummingbird doesn’t penalize sites the way some other algorithm updates do. Still, keyword stuffing and low-quality, spammy or irrelevant content won’t do you any favors.
The update lets Google answer the intent behind a search as well as the keywords in it. To do this, Hummingbird checks sites for two things in particular:
Keyword stuffing
Hummingbird was built to work out what a user wants from their intent as well as from the words they typed. So pick your keywords with care, and optimize your site so Google’s crawlers know exactly what it is about. If you do a sloppy job on your sitemap, page titles, descriptions, keywords and the other labels Google reads, your rankings will sit below those of competing sites that have a well-optimized SEO plan.
Low-quality content
Hummingbird also screens out low-quality sites, as Panda and Penguin did before it, so users can find answers faster and have a better time searching in general.
How the Hummingbird algorithm works
Hummingbird didn’t hit websites hard the way Panda and Penguin did. For the most part, people saw it as a very positive change to Google’s algorithm. Punishing sites was never the goal. The update was meant to return more nuanced results, based less on an exact keyword match and more on what the query means.
Hummingbird made search results more relevant by giving more weight to the intent and meaning behind a query. Google also leaned more on its Knowledge Graph, which helped it understand a subject in finer detail.
Because Hummingbird reads queries and keywords much more the way people do, Google’s results have become less diverse across the board. Google keeps getting better at understanding what we want, and Hummingbird was the first step toward results that match a search more closely.
How to adjust your site for Hummingbird
Hummingbird isn’t a penalty-based update, which is good news for site owners. That doesn’t mean you can ignore it, though. Keep the update in mind whenever you build or edit your site.
Use keyword research tools
Knowing which keywords to put on your site can be tricky. A keyword research tool shows you which words and phrases will bring the traffic you want, meaning traffic that turns into conversions.
Plan for voice search
More and more people search by voice with assistants like Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant, so think about how your keywords fit those tools. Voice searches tend to be conversational and less concise than typed ones. Work out which phrases your target audience is likely to say out loud, then adjust your content to match.
Use synonyms
Hummingbird looks for content that matches the keyword in a query and its synonyms too. Widen your keyword research to cover synonyms and co-occurring terms, so your pages use more varied wording.
Optimize anchor text
You decide your anchor text, so pick words Google can rank well. Put keywords in the anchor text itself and in the sentences around your links.
Getting Hummingbird to work in your favor
Hummingbird was a big improvement to Google’s algorithm, and if you use SEO well and build your site with care, you’ll benefit from it. Do your keyword research, cover the subjects and keywords your audience searches for, and keep strong content on the site; your rankings will climb. Hummingbird rewards sites that say plainly what their content is about and give users a very good experience, which is what Google wants in the end.