- Reading time: 3 mins
- Topics:
- Search Engine Optimization
This week, all of us here at Pulse Marketing finished taking the last of three SEO update seminars on the latest Google Hummingbird release. At the end of it all, we’re quite happy to discover that Google likes us! Why is that, you might ask? We’ve always paid a great deal of attention to the quality of our content—and based on Hummingbird’s new criteria, content is now the undisputed king (of Google’s world, that is).
Google’s Hummingbird release is more than a simple algorithm update—it’s a brand new way of indexing content based on its quality and originality. So much weight is being placed on originality, in fact, that Google now wants to confirm that 75% of each page’s content is unique – and it will punish you for duplicating content.
What does this mean for your website and your SERP ranking?
It means that you should do some research to find out if the Hummingbird update has bumped you either up or down in SERP ranking. If the latter is the case, you should check the quality of the content of each page (and perhaps rewrite it).
Google wants us to write content in a conversational manner—like you would while speaking with a customer. In fact, the best way to work on your website’s content is simply to answer questions that your customers might have about your products and services. That doesn’t mean you should have a question in every page header, followed by an answer, but rather that you should write with the general idea of answering a question.
By answering frequently asked questions, you have an opportunity to create original content that is tailored to your business’ persona(s). Instead of worrying so much about incorporating 3-5 keywords per page, you actually have more freedom now to write engaging content focusing on the reader—not on the rules of the search engine.
Of course, keywords are still relevant, and should be incorporated into the content of each page. What’s new, however (and in my opinion, cool), is that Google now gives more relevance to long-tail keywords—which makes conversational writing that much easier and enjoyable.
Content is not the only change Hummingbird has brought us, though.
Google ties 40% of your SERP ranking to inbound links – relevant ones, that is. Hummingbird now penalizes any sort of link rings (or farms), and it may even suspend your site’s listing until they feel that you’ve fixed the issue.
To increase the number of links coming to your website, create engaging and original content and share it through social media—especially on Google +, of course. Make sure each of your website’s individual pages is tied to social sharing options (e.g. a social media button), as well as your blog.
Conclusion
In essence, Google’s Hummingbird release means you can get great organic ranking by regularly offering original, high-quality content (that’s where a blog comes in handy) and sharing it on your social media pages. These pages, in turn, will drive traffic to your website and solidify its legitimacy.
If you need help with content writing and back-end SEO, the Pulse Marketing team is ready to assist you! Even better, we have a content writer on staff that knows everything that is to know about Hummingbird at this point.
Give us a call—your first consultation is free of charge.
