Google Releases 'Hummingbird'

30-09-2013Tags: SEO

Google's latest algorithm update 'Hummingbird' has been in place over a month now. Though there doesn't seem to be any repercussions on our clients' search rankings, we wanted to take a closer look at this latest release.

It was all a little strange how the announcement was made by Google's two founders Sergei Brin and Larry Page. There was no announcements on the usual outlets and instead was confined to an 'intimate press meeting' in a Silicon Valley garage, where the two founders worked on the launch of Google fifteen years ago. The meetings main agenda was to celebrate Google's 15th Birthday (Happy belated Birthday by the way Google).

Over a month on and we can safely assume that this algorithm change is not focused on reassessing search ranks. It is said to be more focused on the users search query, and how Google can better understand the users search request - simply put, from what we have gathered so far, it is about making the access of information and related information even easier.

Smart Insight comments: "The algorithm update mainly targets "information reference" queries rather than "product or service purchase intent" queries, so this is NOT an update that needs further investigation by marketers".

Though it's good news the latest algorithm changes aren't anything for us to worry about, keeping up to date with Google's search evolution is essential. This latest release is a warning shot for future algorithm changes and one which all marketers should be taking notice of. Hummingbird for us presents a proactive opportunity to develop our clients' digital marketing to ensure we continue to safeguard against future changes and continue to align with Google's mission statement.