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MarkFSimmons
09-29-2013, 11:07 PM
Google announced a new update to the search algorithm on Friday. Google Hummingbird focuses on conversational search and will really impact the user experience. From a webmaster standpoint, if you've been following best practices, you shouldn't see any change. If not, well...

KaterinaM
09-30-2013, 10:52 AM
I think that everything what Google could break it broke after the release of Pinguine and Panda. Now the rules of seo game have changed and I don't thin there is anything good webmasters should be afraid of.

michelle222
10-03-2013, 11:58 AM
Nothing really changes even with this update as long as you focus on good content for both your on page and off page SEO efforts.

Osprey
10-08-2013, 08:40 PM
Everyone I have spoken to all are agreeing that this is not that bad of an update as long as you are following best practices and not trying to be shady.

vangogh
10-09-2013, 02:18 AM
I found some good articles about the Hummingbird update and thought I'd share.

How Will Google Hummingbird Impact Links? Here Are 6 Ways (http://searchengineland.com/how-will-google-hummingbird-impact-links-here-are-6-ways-173702)
FAQ: All About The New Google “Hummingbird” Algorithm (http://searchengineland.com/google-hummingbird-172816)
The Google Hummingbird Patent? (http://www.seobythesea.com/2013/09/google-hummingbird-patent/)

It is about conversational search, but looking deeper it's also about reducing the importance of keywords, something Google has also done by pretty much removing keyword data from Google Analytics. Think longer search phrases instead of a couple or three keywords. Also you'll want to step up the quality content even more. Trust and authority are going to be even more important signals.

patrickprecisione
10-16-2013, 08:58 AM
I'm wondering- Should we still focus on keywords when creating content?

Business Attorney
10-17-2013, 01:42 AM
Google and the other search engines are getting better and better about understanding what a page is about based on the entire content of the page, not just the keywords. You should focus on key concepts rather than key words. From what I have read and seen personally, Google treats treats synonyms as equivalent terms in searches. The bad old days of having different pages optimized for "auto" and "car" or "lawyer" and "attorney" are gone for good.

Besides, as search terms get longer and longer, particularly with conversational search as vangogh pointed out, trying to optimize a page for a 7 or 8 word search phrase is practically pointless because when you use that many words, the permutations are astronomical and the number of times any one exact phrase will be used in a search is incredibly small.

patrickprecisione
10-17-2013, 12:00 PM
One thing I read that I found interesting is that Hummingbird was implemented for a month before they announced it, and as I understand many people didn't even notice a change.

Wozcreative
10-17-2013, 01:10 PM
One thing I read that I found interesting is that Hummingbird was implemented for a month before they announced it, and as I understand many people didn't even notice a change.

But a few did actually.. these people's visits came down and they couldn't figure out why.

patrickprecisione
10-21-2013, 08:41 AM
But a few did actually.. these people's visits came down and they couldn't figure out why.

Oh for sure, some people got hit. Although Hummingbird wasn't really meant to get rid of spammers, right? So I'm curious why people would see less organic traffic.

vangogh
10-22-2013, 01:16 AM
When one page moves up in the results it means others have to move down. Every time the algorithms change some people gain traffic and some people lose traffic. That's simply how it works. I've been meaning to start another thread about an article that look at what recent changes at Google mean. I'll just post the link here. That article is 6 Major Google Changes Reveal the Future of SEO (http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2301719/6-Major-Google-Changes-Reveal-the-Future-of-SEO). One of the changes is Hummingbird

michelle222
10-22-2013, 10:08 AM
I'm wondering- Should we still focus on keywords when creating content?

Keywords are still important but I do not believe this is the only thing to focus now. We need to really interweave our keywords in a sense that it produce good content for our readers since the new update is about the target market.

patrickprecisione
10-22-2013, 11:27 AM
Keywords are still important but I do not believe this is the only thing to focus now. We need to really interweave our keywords in a sense that it produce good content for our readers since the new update is about the target market.

I also wonder- Will this make it more difficult to create content that focuses on specific keywords?

vangogh
10-23-2013, 02:59 AM
If you pay attention to where Google is going, you shouldn't be focusing on specific keywords. You have to think bigger picture. Google is removing keyword data from analytics and they already closed their Keyword Tool to find new keywords. Instead of trying to write a page that's hyper focused on a few words or phrases, you want to write a page that real people want to read and share with others. You want to get people sharing and talking about your page, your site, and you.

Business Attorney
10-23-2013, 06:39 PM
I agree with what you say about what Google wants, which is also what users want, but turning off the information provided by keyword searches leaves a void. Although keywords were misused by many, I used them to decide what topics people had an interest in reading. Why write a great article on a topic that few people are searching for?

Let's say that I have a website on boating and have an idea to write a series on the evolution of boats from the days of wood hulls to today's composite hulls. Using keyword data, I could determine which topics people search on and which are rarely searched. The data could help me tailor the series to my audience, or if the audience is too small, to give up n the topic entirely and find something else that the public is more interested in reading.

Keyword data can be useful in other ways. If you find that a large number visitors to this site come searching for the term "powered by vBulletin" and "signature rules" then you might be less concerned about a high bounce rate. You're not turning away interested users; you're thwarting spammers.

I have always found the keyword information a good source of ideas and am sad to see Google hiding it from me.

vangogh
10-29-2013, 12:20 AM
I agree. I used keywords the same way you did. They gave me ideas on topics to write about and just helped me learn more about the people that were visiting my site. I don't like that they're going away. I think the person who will be most hurt by this is the average person who probably doesn't do much more than check analytics for some basic information. The people who abused the information will be the first to figure out how to replace the information with something else that they can then abuse.

I also think Google's stated reasons for removing the data is hypocritical. They claim it's a privacy thing, but they're still giving out keyword data in AdWords so if you pay for it you can get keyword data. It's not quite as much as you had in Analytics, but it's there. You can also get some data in Google's Webmaster Tools. Again it's not as much data as Analytics showed, but you can still get some keyword data there.

Like it or not though (and I'm one who doesn't like it), keyword data as we knew it is going away and everyone is going to have to adjust.

marrick
12-18-2013, 04:18 AM
I'm wondering- Should we still focus on keywords when creating content?

You can still use some keywords in creating content. But focusing will most likely lead you to make your content spam-looking in the eyes of Google. Remember that Google is smart enough if you are manipulating every bit of work you've done in contents.

So the best thing you can do is to create a content that will provide great information to users and then include keywords to them if necessary.