With the recent release of Google’s Hummingbird update, it’s important to know how you’ll have to tailor your SEO strategy to remain in good standing with the new changes. Now that we’ve had a few months to experience Hummingbird, it has become a bit easier to keep your rankings in place. However, there are still a few things popping up here and there that you may not know about, so we’ve decided to do a recap of sorts to help make sure everyone is up to speed on what exactly the update does.

 

 

 

 

What Do You Need To Worry About?

One of the biggest concerns whenever a major Google update comes out is whether or not it will revolutionize SEO. Fortunately, Hummingbird keeps all the fundamentals in place, so you don’t have to worry about forgetting everything you know about optimization or anything ridiculous like that. Effective content is still the best thing you can do for a website, keywords still work the same, and everything’s sunshine and rainbows. Well, for the most part anyway. There are still some major aspects of the update you should be aware of, even though nothing should worry you.

 

First and foremost, searches are now much more intelligent. There is a significantly larger emphasis on actual sentences showing correct results as opposed to splices of keywords. This means less need for long-tail keywords that sound like a robot wrote them and a bigger focus on competing for niche keywords instead. Along with smarter searches comes longer times spent on results pages. While it’s a bit too early to be able to definitively say this leads to more effective sponsored ads, it is certainly looking that way. Even though we all know we should be utilizing sponsored ads, it could be a smarter tactic now than in the past, and any websites not currently running them may quickly decide to start.

 

Luckily, there isn’t too much that actually effects what SEO specialists need to do. All in all, it’s a pretty light update in terms of what you’ll have to start doing different. Just remember that long-tailed keywords are going to change pretty drastically, so be prepared for that. Pay extra attention to how they rank in the next few months and adjust accordingly, as well as seeing how your sponsored ads to. Feel free to explore with them, too, but don’t get adventurous before we have a definitive answer on how much the ads and keywords will be impacted. Anything beyond those two aspects is business as usual. Hummingbird should be easy to adjust to, so there isn’t much you’ll have to sweat about.

There’s no denying the fact mobile devices are quickly becoming a household appliance. Over 50% of people in the U.S. live in constant reach of a smartphone or tablet, and many of them reach to it the moment they need to buy something. Well naturally this creates a demand for web sites that can function on mobile as well as desktop, and that means going above and beyond the bare minimum. Websites that “work” don’t necessarily make the cut when it comes to selling your product, and people have come to expect a certain standard from their browsing experience.

 

 

What’s So Important About It?

Simply saying it’s important to have responsive web design doesn’t explain why. Yes, it is necessary to implement it, but just exactly why is it such an essential concept?

1) First off, and perhaps most apparent, is that bad websites drive visitors away. If you don’t capture someone’s attention in the first few seconds of their visit, they’re going to head straight for the back button. Obviously you can’t showcase your website to someone who can’t see it, meaning you can’t showcase your product. Plain and simple, bad websites lose business.

 

2) While most of us can recognize a bad website, it’s much harder to recognize a good one. One thing is certain, though: good websites look, well, good. Responsive web design does just that, making sites look attractive across all platforms. This goes a long way towards enhancing user experience, and will not only keep visitors on the page for longer, but can bring them back to make purchases again.

 

 

3) With massive amounts of growth in mobile devices sold each year, these users can’t be ignored any longer. Sites need to be designed for both desktop and mobile if companies plan on keeping customers around, and with over 200 unique screen resolutions out there, this can be quite the challenge. Responsiveness allows any and all screen sizes to display a site the way it’s meant to be, meaning everyone using a smartphone or tablet won’t have to worry about scrolling or resizing.

 

4) We’re at the point in time where some companies design their websites for all devices, but there is still a good number that don’t. Users are noticing this, though, and will browse search results until they find a site that looks good on whatever they’re using. This doesn’t just keep sites from bringing in new customers, it will lose them existing ones as well. Keeping a steady flow of income from online campaigns means adapting to what’s around you, and right now that’s responsive web design.

 

We all know how important a good SEO campaign is. It is more than capable of making or breaking your online profile, and can’t be overlooked if you want to find success on your website. The one downside to this, though, is that very few people actually know what “good SEO” means. Yes, we all have the general idea: choose keywords carefully, post content regularly, etc. But the real challenge is finding how to go above and beyond the basics. Enter Google Authorship, the wonderful little tool that can help bump up your traffic by 150%. A painfully simple method of increasing traffic, it is one of the best ways you can get an edge on your competitors.

 

How It Works

Google+ is a big part of this system, if not all of it, and you’ll need an account to use Authorship. Lucky for everyone, this is easy to do, and shouldn’t cause any problems for some of the less tech-savvy people out there. After you have an account, any blog posts you put up while signed in will show your name, photo, Google+ bio, contact info, and anything else you choose to put on your profile right there on the post link.

 

 

The Effects

We’ve all seen the facts behind rich snippets, so there’s no need to go too in depth behind all of that. However, there are some important aspects unique to Google Authorship that will directly impact SEO results.

• When browsing search results, social annotations attract attention better than video snippets. Not only does this mean personal photos are more valuable than videos, it also suggests that a link’s placement on the front page is not as important if the other links don’t have pictures.

 

 

 

• Users look at links with photos for longer. This further supports the idea that someone will be more likely to click on a link establishing a personal connection. As an added note, the longer someone looks at a link, the better the chance that they will read the description, adding to the effectiveness of search snippets.

• Social annotations also allow you to further refine your SEO campaign through carefully selecting what to put in the snippet. A professional photo, bio, etc. will attract professional users. This can give you an added edge on those pesky sites holding down the top spots for your keywords, bringing increased amounts of traffic without actually increasing your rankings.

 

If you’re looking for the next way to bump your SEO to the next level, Google Authorship could very well be the best method out there. Easy to set up and even easier to use, it’s quickly becoming a staple in every great marketing scheme.