Google has done a major algorithm change again, how does it affect you?

Google has announced yet another algorithm update, the latest being code named “Hummingbird” and it affects 90% of all searches. This is their biggest update since their “Caffeine” update back in 2010.

The major update is to how Google handles questions, in particular the context of the question. For example, “Where can I watch training videos in Australia?” is a completely different question to “Where can I buy training videos in Australia?”. Apple’s Siri has a been a pioneer of being able to understand the context of a question, and now Google can do the same. This update is aimed at the end user and allowing them to ask Google exactly what they’re looking for rather than just short phrases. With the addition of Google voice throughout most Google site and apps this update is truly important.

So how does this update affect you and your site? Well the truth is Google silently released this update over a month ago. This means if your rankings were going to drop then they already have.

In review, get ready to test your site for questions rather than keywords – Google does most of the heavy lifting here for you. As long as you’re not keyword stuffing and you’re providing good content as well as living in the social world you should be okay.

Of course if you have any questions regarding these updates and what you can do to prepare for the future, give us a call on (03) 9855 2304 or email [email protected] and we’ll be more than happy to advise you on where you need to head!