Released last fall, (late September) Google’s new Hummingbird algorithm has changed the way we develop our websites and market to our customers. In the past, we have focused on keywords, populating ALT tags in images and of the meta tags (or meta data) in page titles, descriptions and content. Now with this latest change, we need to look at what a searcher intends. This is referred to as semantic or conversational search. Google’s new algorithm looks at the entire search phrase instead of a few key words.
Does that mean mind-reading? Not really, it’s just another way to look at search terms or phrases and catering our content to answer those queries. As always, content should be high-quality and focus in on the needs of your intended audience. For instance, my business is located in Hoschton, Georgia, which is close to Braselton, Flowery Branch, Dacula, Buford and other surrounding cities. By adding this to information to my blog, it may be that people from those locations will find Keener Digital Marketing in their search results. I do work for companies across the United States but this just gives me one more way to reach my prospective clients.
There’s plenty of information about Hummingbird available by companies that specialize in search engine marketing. Here is an updated link that you may find helpful: https://www.searchenginewatch.com/2018/10/10/a-cheat-sheet-to-google-algorithm-updates-from-2011-to-2018/
By the way, I’ve been following SearchEngineWatch.com since the mid-nineties and highly recommend this site.