Google has revamped its search formula to better cope with the changing nature of search queries, such as longer keyphrases or voice commands. The new ‘Hummingbird’ algorithm could have a major impact on traffic to websites, and marks one of Google’s biggest changes to date. Hummingbird was secretly launched a month ago, and was revealed […]
Google has revamped its search formula to better cope with the changing nature of search queries, such as longer keyphrases or voice commands.
The new ‘Hummingbird’ algorithm could have a major impact on traffic to websites, and marks one of Google’s biggest changes to date.
Hummingbird was secretly launched a month ago, and was revealed yesterday by Amit Singhal, senior vice president of search.
Singhal said the new version currently affects 90% of worldwide searches via Google.
Google said that traditional “Boolean” or keyword-based systems are beginning to deteriorate because of the need to match concepts and meanings in addition to words.
The move marks the biggest change to Google search since the ‘Caffine’ upgrade in 2010.
Unlike recent ‘Penguin and Panda’ updates, which were adjustments to the existing algorthym, ‘Hummingbird’ marks a change to Google’s whole search engine.
Google uses over 200 major factors to determine which links should appear at the top of search results pages, including its famous ‘PageRank’ metric.
Singhal, writing in a blog post, said: “Remember what it was like to search in 1998? You’d sit down and boot up your bulky computer dial up on your squawky modem, type in some keywords, and get 10 blue links to websites that had those words.
“The world has changed so much since then: billions of people have come online, the web has grown exponentially, and now you can ask any question on the powerful little device in your pocket.”
Mobile search upgrade
Google also announced a few smaller changes to searching. It is changing the visual layout of mobile search to better suit phones and tablets.
Meanwhile, an update for Google Now for Apple devices lets people set reminders on an Android device at home and receive them later on an iPhone.
In addition, users can now compare two things, like butter and olive oil, or corgis and pugs, in search results (see below).
‘Conversational search’
One area that is getting a boost is ‘conversational search’ meaning that Hummingbird should better focus on the meaning behind the words.
Google originally matched keywords in a search query to the same words on Web pages. Now, it aims to understand the meaning of phrases and display results that more accurately match that meaning.
Google had taken smaller steps toward this in the past. The Knowledge Graph, introduced last year, understands the meanings of and relationships between things, people and places, which is known as semantic search.
The algorithm also builds on work Google has done to understand conversational language, like interpreting what pronouns in a search query refer to.
Hummingbird extends that to all Web searches, not just results related to entities included in the Knowledge Graph. It tries to connect phrases and understand concepts in a long query.
The outcome is not a change in how Google searches the Web, but in the results that it shows.
Rise in ad prices?
Google fields about two of out every three search requests in the US and handles an even larger volume in some parts of Europe.
The changes could also drive up the price of Google ads tied to search requests if websites whose rankings are demoted under the new system feel they have to buy the marketing messages to attract traffic.
Google made the announcement at an event to celebrate its 15th birthday, held in the Menlo Park, California, garage where CEO Larry Page and fellow co-founder Sergey Brin started the company 15 years ago.
To mark the occasion, Google released an infographic showing how the search engine has evolved in 15 years (see below)
Read the official Google blog here
