Now that Google is 15 and almost ready to drive a car all by itself (see what we did, there?), the search engine has decided to act like a full-on teenager and reinvent itself. First, they decided to encrypt all keyword referral data from organic search in Google Analytics. Most SEOs knew the change was going to come around eventually, but most people assumed that 100% encryption was a few years off. So that news set the search marketing community abuzz. The second change was one that actually happened a month ago, but it happened silently; behind the scenes, and was only officially announced last week. Hummingbird, the new search algorithm, was designed to help Google better handle complex search queries. This update aims to parse out the actual intent of a user instead of just the rote matching of keywords to the query. So, will the Hummingbird algorithm change the way we approach video marketing?
Not Just Another Update
Hummingbird isn’t just another update. It’s a completely new algorithm. Google announced the change on its 15th birthday, September 26, from the same garage where the search engine was created. It is estimated that this change will have an effect on 90% of all searches around the globe. That’s a major shift, even for Google.
The Hummingbird algorithm aims to produce answers rather than just search results. We’ve all changed the way we search in the last 15 years. We even turned “Google” into a verb. Most people phrase queries in the form of questions, and even when they don’t, users are typically looking to find an answer to a question or problem. So rather than spit out results that match a few key terms, Google is moving toward semantic search. This conversational way of looking at things will take into account the actual phrasing of the query, in much the same way a person would respond to a question based on phrasing. If someone stopped you on the street and said, “Do you know where I can find a great Thai restaurant in this neighborhood,” you’d likely direct them to your favorite restaurant. If they instead asked, “Is there a Thai place in this city,” you might just point them to the closest restaurant and move on. Google hopes to infer the intent of the searcher and produce highly personalized results.
Conversational Search Results Focus on Intent, Not Keyword Matches
This update is an effort to adapt Google to the way the world is adapting to smartphones. Many people use Siri and other voice-command software to quickly access search results on the go, rather than taking the time to type them into the phone. Google needs to keep up in order to maintain its massive market share, and thus, we have Hummingbird.
Google has been striving to improve search results steadily over the last several years. They know that if users keep getting hammered with junk results, they’ll go somewhere else (and they’ll lose out on those all-important AdWords clicks). The Caffeine, Panda, and Penguin updates were major steps toward improving search for users, but Hummingbird goes even farther. Results will now be personalized based on location, context, the device you’re searching from, knowledge graph, and platform, putting emphasis on the intent of the user, not keyword matches.
For example, let’s say you searched “how do you install a ceiling fan?” Your results may have always been a mixed bag. You might have gotten a few blog posts that match your query, but you’d probably have to sift through a bunch of results listing actual ceiling fans and pricing from major retailers.
The one difference has always been video. Google’s YouTube search has historically done a good job of matching “how to” queries with instructional video. But since they are making all search semantic, it’s more critical than ever that your content answers questions so that your videos can rank well in blended search results.
Adapting Your Video Content To The Hummingbird Algorithm
Experts have been saying for the last few years that your content needs to be truly useful and informative or you’re going to be left in the dust. The Penguin and Panda updates did separate a lot of wheat from chaff, but many strong websites also got dinged in the process. Nothing Google does is perfect. But if you’ve been heeding the warnings and developing video content that is useful, sharable, and provides real value, you’re going to be in a good position for Hummingbird.
In order to be sure you’re prepared (even though the changes have already been made), you might want to take an inventory of your website and how it relates to your video content. Pull up your website and use the following brief questions as an audit:
- Is your video content easy to find?
- Are your videos in context or do you have them all hiding on one “videos” page? (Hint: your videos should be a natural part of your content, giving Google more context. Don’t hide them all on one page)
- Do other pages link to your videos, both on-site and off?
- Do your videos link out to similar content on your site?
- Does each video serve a real purpose?
- What question does each video answer?
Once you’ve answered these questions it might be time to make some adjustments to your site and your content in order to provide the best context for Google to know how to rank your videos. The structure and design of your website will play into this. Your site must be easy to navigate, and it should enhance your visitors’ experience.
Keyword (Not Provided) is (Not The End Of The World)
Keywords have always been critical to good SEO for video, so these recent changes have many video marketers scrambling. If you’re still worrying about what you’re going to do when Google encrypts all organic referral data, now is the time to stop. You can still get this information if you have the budget to pour into an AdWords campaign. But not everyone has the money to do this, and many people will refuse on principle. Just remember, Google is a publically traded company. They are in business to make money, just like you are. Frankly, it’s amazing they’ve given away organic data for free for as long as they have. We can’t change it, so we must adapt.
If you’ve been living and dying by keywords, it’s time to put your big boy or big girl pants on and move on. You can still get keyword data from Yahoo and Bing, and you can also get some data from Google Webmaster Tools. These aren’t ideal methods of data collection, but you can make some strong inferences about keywords from this information.
But the best course of action is to focus your video content on user experience rather than keywords. Approach your videos from the perspective of your potential customers. Decide what questions they might ask and how you can provide the answers in your video. Diversify your approach and do everything you can to make your user experience easy and pleasant on your website. If you do that, you can’t possibly go wrong.
How do you feel about the new Hummingbird algorithm and its implications for online video marketing? Let us know in the comments.
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