The Google Hummingbird Update – The Final Death of Keywords?

For its 15th birthday, Google announced on the official blog a new algorithm update that has already been active for a month and, according to them, influences 90% of search queries. This time named after the hummingbird, the Hummingbird Update!

[caption id="attachment_13984" align="aligncenter" width="400"]

A hummingbird[/caption]

What is Google Hummingbird?

Back when Google was in its early stages, the world of search was simple: users entered one or multiple keywords into the search box and received a number of links to websites that Google considered relevant because they contained the searched keywords (in the page title, in headlines, in content, and at one point even the meta-keywords were relevant!).

Thanks to a multitude of websites, blogs, and online shops, users are now accustomed to entering entire phrases or even full questions into the search instead of single keywords. Since voice search has also become possible, fully formulated questions have become common instead of keyword lists. Hummingbird (representative of the traits fast and precise) responds to these developments and aims to deliver more precise results by identifying the user's intent and reacting with relevant search results. The Knowledge Graph and entity-based search are two topics that have already provided insight into how the future of search works.

With Hummingbird, results are to be delivered less keyword-based and more towards satisfactorily answering the question or problem, i.e., the intention behind entering search terms.

Google has not disclosed much concrete information about the new update yet, but Search Engine Land managed to gather some facts through discussions with "Googlers": apparently backlinks remain important for the new algorithm. PageRank also continues to play a role along with more than 200 other "main factors" in the algorithm. Also important: Hummingbird completely replaces the old algorithm—and this without it being noticed publicly before the official announcement of the update! Panda and Penguin were updates of the old algorithm but, according to Google, are also part of Hummingbird. The new algorithm consists of old and new factors tailored to the new requirements of search. Interestingly, Bill Slawski on SEO by the Sea points out a patent filed by Google. It's unclear whether the described procedure is actually used in Hummingbird, but it's conceivable. Under the title "Synonym identification based on co-occurring terms," it's about identifying synonyms based on co-occurrence, i.e., the simultaneous appearance of terms.

The abstract of the patent reads as follows:

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for identifying a particular query term of an original search query, identifying a candidate synonym for the particular query term in context with another non-adjacent query term of the original search query that is not adjacent to the particular query term in the original search query, accessing stored data that specifies, for a pair of terms that includes the particular query term and the candidate synonym of the particular query term, a respective confidence value for the other non-adjacent query term, determining that, in the stored data, the confidence value for the other non-adjacent query term satisfies a threshold, and determining to revise the original search query to include the candidate synonym of the particular query term, based on determining that the confidence value for the other non-adjacent query term satisfies the threshold.

Summarized and simplified, it's about identifying search terms within queries, determining possible synonyms, and calculating a probability. The synonym with the highest probability exceeding a certain threshold replaces the original search term in the query. The patent provides an example of a search query for a place for pizza, where the term "restaurant" is identified as a suitable synonym for "place."

SEO for the Hummingbird: Are keywords officially dead?

The Keyword Tool was replaced by the Keyword Planner and is no longer freely accessible. In Analytics, Google provides (not provided) instead of organic keywords, and in search, the focus doesn't seem to be on keywords in the traditional sense anymore. So why even conduct keyword research and optimize pages for keywords? Does it still make a difference after Hummingbird and what should be done instead?

It should have become clear that pure optimization for keywords is outdated when Google repeatedly emphasized focusing on user interests. It's important not to aim for a certain keyword density or follow rigid rules for keyword placement but to empathize with your target audience: What questions can your site answer, which needs does it meet, and how can this be optimally reflected in the content?

Keywords are still an important factor for understanding user search behavior and delivering the right content: What terms are used and what language does the target audience speak? Besides the use of synonyms, it's crucial to recognize relationships and analyze which terms Google links together and what logical connections the algorithm recognizes. Starting point can be the keyword research, additional clues are the Google Autosuggest function, related search terms, and the first search results for a query: Which terms appear frequently here? Considering these results in your content is a sensible way to produce relevant content and help Google correctly categorize your pages. What's also important is the overall context of a search, which plays a role in the results: From where is the search conducted, on which device, etc. Again, it helps to understand the target group: What portion of visitors currently comes from mobile devices? Is the topic relevant for mobile? How do mobile and desktop visitors or those from different locations differ in their needs? You can read more about this in our blog post about entity-based search of the future.

Is your website ready for the Hummingbird? According to Google, major publishers haven't noticed any significant traffic loss, and so far, there hasn't been a big uproar. However, it's important to engage with the updates and develop a suitable content strategy focused on the new algorithm. Our SEO experts are happy to help you, feel free to contact us!