In 2013 a seismic shift hit the world of SEO, and search experts are still trying to figure out what they think about it. Google’s Hummingbird changed some major rules about how its search algorithms work, and many businesses still don’t know how to update their SEO strategies to fit the new rules.
If you’re still in the dark about how to find the right keywords after Hummingbird’s changes to SEO, the biggest trick for you may be changing the way you think about keywords.
Keywords Aren’t Obsession-Worthy Anymore
The three things you need to know about keywords:
1. You don’t need to find the “right” keywords to have strong search rankings.
Search rankings are determined by a lot more than keywords now. Search engines are becoming more interested in who created the content, who’s sharing it, and how valuable it is.
That means there’s no “best” keyword to target anymore. In fact, there are potentially hundreds of combinations of keywords that could be relevant to any one page—especially considering the personalization of search results. Hummingbird cares more about understanding the searcher’s intent and needs than it does about specific keywords.
