Last week, Google told us they pushed out a completely rewritten algorithm named Hummingbird.
They said the new algorithm was released a month or so ago and no one should have noticed it. But as I said, I think we did notice something. Why do I think that?
On 9/12, 9/4 and 8/24 we saw significant chatter in the forum to warrant us asking Google if there was an update. Google denied that there was an algorithm update all times. But all of these may correspond to a possible overlap with Hummingbird.
I cannot tell you if all of them are Hummingbird related or if none of them are. Only Google can tell you that.
All I can say is that on those dates, we saw complaints about ranking shifts. Google denied that they were anything. A month or so later, Google announces there was an algorithm update that completely rewrote the Google algorithm, it should have no visual impact on rankings and no one noticed anything. No one noticed anything? Really?
Again, I have no way to know when you may have noticed an update that was specific to Hummingbird. I suspect parts of Hummingbird has rolled out slowly over time, even before a month ago. But on which dates? Only Google knows. Do they correspond with9/12, 9/4 and 8/24 - no idea.
So how do you know if the Google Hummingbird Algorithm hurt or improved your site in Google? You don't and will never know, without Google confirming the roll out dates of Hummingbird and also confirming nothing else launched on those dates that were related to ranking.
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
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Should You Change Your SEO Strategy Because of Google Hummingbird?
If the idea that SEO is dead crosses your mind or turns up in print, dismiss it. The fact is that nothing is really going to change in the way that we pursue the almighty ranking, with the possible exception of the resurgence of the long tail keyword, which was working its way back into our hearts anyway. Everything that worked before Hummingbird’s release will still work moving forward. This includes:
Original and engaging content is still king
Legitimate back links that are earned using proper SEO are still important
The same signals that worked before will continue to garner results
Keywords will still need to be carefully placed and used in moderation
The only thing that is really going to change in a meaningful enough way to be noticeable is the way Google’s new algorithm interprets the way we search.
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