How will Google’s new Hummingbird Algorithm impact your eCommerce SEO efforts?

How will Google’s new Hummingbird Algorithm impact your eCommerce SEO efforts?

Date: September 30, 2013

Google recently announced that its new Hummingbird search algorithm has been up and in place for approximately a month. The release of this new algorithm, coinciding with the company’s 15 birthday, raises questions for eCommerce Directors about the potential impact it may have on search engine results page rankings and ultimately online conversion.

The dramatically revised algorithm, aptly named Humming bird, is purported to be “precise and fast” and designed to provide query results quickly. Yet it’s not its speed that has everyone talking, but the announcement that it’s based on semantic searches as opposed to individual search terms.

According to Search Engine Land’s Danny Sullivan, “Hummingbird is paying more attention to each word in a query, ensuring that the whole query – the whole sentence or conversation or meaning – is taken into account, rather than particular words. The goal is that pages matching the meaning do better, rather than pages matching just a few words.”

So how does this “conversational” search impact search engine optimization for retailers?

More, now than ever, content is king when it comes to improved search engine optimization. High-quality, original content that addresses the needs of both search engines and users is one of the most powerful tools eCommerce Directors can use in their quest for to drive traffic to their online shops. Feature-benefit driven product descriptions, informative buying guides and how-to guides with rich, customer-focused content offer opportunities for retailers to connect directly with target markets and convert browsers into buyers. 

The emphasis is less about keywords and more on customer engagement and intent ­– this means that online retailers need to focus on appealing, shareable content that can cross over to other platforms such as mobile and social media. The attention to longer and more complex search strings creates great opportunities for businesses that focus website and product content on solving customers’ problems and meeting customers’ needs.

One of the greatest changes that may come out of the new algorithm will be the elimination of irrelevant links and resources from search engine result pages, rewarding businesses that provide well-thought-out, intuitive content with higher page rankings over those that rely on simple keywords or repetitive content.

To some, the algorithm change is no surprise and even considered a long overdue response to meeting the changing ways users conduct searches and the changing expectations consumers’ have toward trusting businesses to provide the answers to the questions they want to know.

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geekspeak is an eCommerce services company that helps online retailers convert online browsers into loyal buyers through specialized eCommerce product content, product imaging, content SEO, catalogue management and more. www.thinkgeekspeak.com