TRAFFIC
GOOGLE HUMMINGBIRD DEMYSTIFIED:
FROM KEYWORD RESEARCH
TO LINK-BUILDING
The release in September 2013 of Google’s Hummingbird algorithm was welcomed with the usual storm
of “SEO is dead” posts on online marketing blogs. However, Google Hummingbird did not kill the game
but simply changed some of its rules, impacting the ways in which content should be produced and
optimised. Matteo Monari of BizUp shows what webmasters should change about their strategy and
why.
SINCE SEPTEMBER 2013, Google
has been using an improved algorithm
to provide the queries of its users with
“precise and fast” results. This evolved
algorithm focuses on the semantic value of
web pages and user queries, trying to better
understand their real meaning and the
underlying user intent. As a consequence,
Hummingbird, the name Google gave to
the algorithm, has impacted the way in
which SEO-oriented content should be
produced and optimised, from keyword
research and mapping to link building. 18
months on from its launch, what Google
Hummingbird really meant for SEO is
finally clear, and a few key changes should
be applied to standard SEO processes. Here
is what to change and why.
Keyword research
Keyword research should be the foundation
of any SEO strategy. Once the goal of your
site is clear to you, you should ask yourself
what kind of searchers you want to attract
and what kind of user needs and demands
your site should fulfil, i.e. what information
are the searchers you are targeting looking
for? Are they really looking for information
or do they want to accomplish something,
for example, playing a certain game or
getting a specific bonus code?
Most of the time, the best tool for
clearing these doubts is Google Adwords
Keyword Planner1, which can shed so YB