When Google launched its new Hummingbird algorithm last week, SEOs and the best casino affiliates were justifiably concerned.
After all, Google’s recent algorithm updates (Penguin and Panda) wreaked havoc on SEO strategies and tanked Page Rankings in all kinds of industries. The question now is whether or not Hummingbird will pack that same punch?
So far, Hummingbird’s impact has been nowhere near as severe as algorithm updates like Panda and Penguin and, most likely, it won’t be anytime soon.
One reason why Hummingbird won’t be a disruptive force is because it’s aimed more at end-users than SEOs.
At its core, Hummingbird is designed to help Google more effectively answer real-language queries such as, “Where do I find the best online poker bonuses?” and “How do I make a deposit with an online sportsbook?”
These types of conversational (or non-Boolean searches) are a real challenge for search engines that were designed to answer Boolean searches such as, “top poker bonuses.”Google is hoping that Hummingbird will help them answer these queries in a faster, more precise manner. (Hence the name, “Hummingbird.”)
Many SEOs assumed that Hummingbird would do an end run around publishers by providing answers directly from the search results page without a lot of additional clicks.
Those fears have largely been unfounded. Google is now saying that they actually implemented Hummingbird about a month ago, so any Hummingbird damage would likely have already happened.
Given Google’s track record, a sky-is-falling mentality isn’t really out of line from an affiliate who’s just heard an animal name used in the same sentence with the words, “Google” and “update.” In this case, though, it seems like there’s little to worry about.
At the end of the day, Google will continue its push for quality content and to keep its customers (the end-users) happy. Hummingbird is simply an attempt to do just that.
So if the Hummingbird has been keeping you up at night – and we’d understand if it did – you can go back to bed.