I know I’m not the only one to reach into my pocket for my phone to Google life’s important questions such as “How do I reheat a Chipotle burrito?” or “What was the name of that Nicolas Cage movie where he yells a lot?” For all of these burning questions that require immediate attention, Google’s Hummingbird algorithm continues to make it easier for us to search naturally by incorporating more long-tail search rather than keyword phrases.

So what is long-tail search? It’s utilizing more specific keywords that are less common, individually, but make up majority of search-driven traffic. It’s not a new practice; long-tail search has been around for years, but mobile devices are changing the way people search for things. Google has recognized the value in searching naturally by way of speech patterns. The company says all the queries on the Web are anywhere from 20% to even up to 50% long-tail, with other outlets saying more than that.

Make Conversation With Google

While a standard keyword search may give you a ton of results, long-tail search is more likely to give you the result you need by being more specific. Google doesn’t stop there. Your searchquery is a step-by-step process in Hummingbird, so you can build off of what you’ve previously searched.

The way my brain works, I’ll pose a question as if I’m having a conversation with myself. In the old days when I first started to use the Internet, I remember Asking Jeeves very specific questions to find what I was looking for. To my pleasure, that way of searching has come back. With Hummingbird, users can basically copy-paste that phrase from your mind to your search bar. You no longer have to decide on what keywords to use, forming an awkward fragment of a sentence in your search history.

This, of course, isn’t sweeping away keywords altogether, but is placing the “old school” tag on it. Google has introduced the two styles to create a better searching experience for users.

Products That Process Speech Patterns

Google has made it clear that Hummingbird is all about speech patterns. This helps as products come out that listen and analyze what we tell them do. Apple has had Siri, the virtual assistant that accompanies your iPhone since early 2010. The new Google Glass uses a Heads-Up Display creating a vision akin to how RoboCop processes information. Even my Android phone has introduced me to Google Now, which has Cards to display information on day-to-day activities, news, sports scores, and more.

With these great products available on the market, it’s easier than ever to communicate with Google thanks to the Hummingbird algorithm. You’ll learn it’s best to reheat that burrito in a toaster oven first, then microwave it for roughly half a minute to melt the cheese and the movie Nicolas Cage yells a lot in is Face/Off.

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PCG Digital Marketing is an award winning digital agency headquartered in Eatontown, NJ. We help our clients get found online through innovative search, social and online advertising campaigns.