Google's Hummingbird & 100% Not Provided

Growing a Good Experience from Keywords to Intent

Last week, Google announced Hummingbird, their latest algorithm update. This update is perhaps the biggest shake-up in 12 years because it actually rewrites the entire search algorithm.

Algorithm re-write.
The algorithm is called Hummingbird because it strives to give users quick and precise results. This may not seem like anything new on the surface but it's a game-changer. Hummingbird is drastically different from other major updates like Panda and Penguin because it takes the emphasis off keywords and places it on the user's intent, overall context and our multi-screen habits.

The Growth of Search

Shift from broad keywords to specific long tail keywords.
The way we search has dramatically shifted over the years. When the Internet was just a baby, people searched using broad keywords - shoes, cars, real estate, etc. As the Internet evolved so did our keyword search habits. People started using long tail keyword phrases like "Nike Air Max Lebron X Low" to get very specific and highly relevant results. Keyword phrases increased from one, two-word phrases to three, four, five-word phrases and more.

Not Provided for logged in users.
In October of 2011 (it's hard to believe it was almost two years ago), Google stopped releasing keyword data for users who were logged in to a Google product. Google estimated that "not provided" searches would only account for single digit percentage of searches. "Not Provided" became standard in the Google Analytics organic search report. Google promoted the shift as an attempt to improve privacy. Marketers were skeptical.

100% not provided.
Fast forward to September of 2013. Earlier this month, Google announced that they were no longer going to provide any keyword data because all Google searches would be encrypted. (Encrypted searches don't pass keyword data to Google Analytics.) Once again, this change prompted frustration for marketers. We can still see some keyword data within Google AdWords and Google Webmaster Tools.

Hummingbird announcement.
A few days later, after quietly rolling out the biggest update in years, we're seeing how 100% Not Provided and the Hummingbird algorithm fit together. Keywords alone are not the holy grail. Search queries are more conversational. How do I..? Compare x to y. Where is the best...? If Google can provide answers without the user needing to click out to a website, they will. This makes Google the authority. Get around this by determining how YOU can be the authority instead of Google.

Shift from keyword manipulation to great user experiences.
Personally, I like where this is headed because it firmly supports the idea of creating great websites with engaging, sharable content. There's no room for gaming or manipulation. Good web marketing is about providing a truly authentic experience for your website visitors and so much more than keywords.