The Hummingbird update rolled out on August 2013, but it wasn’t until September that it was announced. It entailed a significant algorithmic change which allowed the search engine to go beyond the words that searchers type in their query and understand the meaning behind those keywords.
Google confirmed that, unlike Penguin and Panda, the Hummingbird update was a comprehensive overhaul of the search engine’s core algorithm. The analogy was that of a car engine being upgraded with some essential components needing replacements to make way for new technologies. However, some parts were retained since they are still functioning well.
This was probably the first time that the core algorithm got a major overhaul. The closest update with substantial impact was Caffeine, but it was focused on how fast bots can crawl through and index pages to gather information. Hummingbird, on the other hand, was an improvement on how the search engine sorts data to provide users with the most relevant results in the SERPs.
The most prominent enhancement for this update was the conversational search feature where Google now understands the semantics and intent behind a user’s question instead of merely focusing on keywords. For example, if you typed in “best Chinese restaurants,” the search engine would use the personal data you’ve shared such as your location and the time you made the query. With the information it has, it may display results of nearby diners that are open at that moment.
Essentially, Hummingbird pays attention to the entirety of the query to make sure that it fully comprehends what information the user may be looking for. It then pulls up pages that match the meaning instead of just matching a few words. Google has started doing this with Knowledge Graph and implemented the design to billions of pages through this update.
Around the time that the update rolled out, webmaster tools for monitoring rankings warned the community of a significant upgrade. The analytics showed spikes on August 20 and 21. However, there weren’t a lot of complaints; only a few site operators confirmed that they lost organic traffic.
Google maintained that the Hummingbird algorithmic change only had a query-by-query effect, not for rankings particularly. The update may have hit some websites or their losses could have been caused by other filters such as those for payday loans and in-depth articles, which rolled out in June and August, respectively.
Hummingbird led to a significant change in SEO. Web developers, site operators, and bloggers now had to use natural language in producing content rather than incorporating forced keywords. Having key search terms continue to be vital for your optimization strategies, but the update prioritizes long-tail keywords since users generally type in full and specific questions today.
Technical website features were also given the spotlight after Hummingbird rolled out. You can maximize on-page elements title tags, URLs, content, alt tags, and design.
Here’s an in-depth look at each factor: