Google has announced a massive update that will impact approximately 90% of searches. This update is the largest since it switched to Caffeine back in 2010. Exciting!
Google Hummingbird
According to Mashable, “Google on Thursday announced a handful of new updates to the company’s search offering, including a major update to Google’s search algorithm that the company calls Hummingbird. The new algorithm affects 90% of all searches, and has been in place for about a month.”
So this update is not entirely new. It has been rolled out for some time now. This is just the first we are hearing about it. So what do we know about it? Well, right now we don’t have the full story. But we do have a little information on the Google Hummingbird Update.
Does Google Hummingbird Mean Big Change?
Most people will not notice a difference in the search results. The main purpose of the update is to provide better results for questions asked during voice search. Voice search has greatly changed the way people search for data online. You can learn more about it here.
Forbes Likes Hummingbird
According to Forbes, this was a needed change.
“With more people making more complex queries, especially as they can increasingly speak their searches into their smartphones, there’s a need for new mathematical formulas the handle them.”
Why Ignite is Excited About Google Hummingbird
This update will allow Google to return better cards via mobile and better results for questions in general. The cards concern some websites, because in the case of a card being returned Google simply supplies the information and a website is never visited. While that is the case, we really don’t need that visit if Google is supplying the information we want. Along this train of thought, there is clearly interest in trying to optimize for the cards. Which some people speculate to be a new form of SEO coming down the pipelines.
Overall, this update will be one to watch but not one to worry about. We are seeing great rankings across the board for clients and very limited fluctuation. But when you consider this news of Google Hummingbird and the new announcement on Google Analytics, it is fair to say that Google has had a busy month and things are changing fast! Which is the best part about Internet marketing.
