Online Exclusive: Contractors benefit from Google’s Hummingbird Update

A little over a month ago, Google quietly released what they are saying is their biggest algorithm update ever. Few even realized it happened because only a very small percentage was affected by it — unlike the Panda and Penguin updates from last year, which made headlines all over the Internet.

Some of you might have even felt the wrath of those updates as they released penalties for bad linking and duplicate content. The difference between the Panda and Penguin updates in comparison to Hummingbird is that Panda and Penguin were released to clean up web spam, whereas Hummingbird is designed to what I like to call “humanize the Internet.”

Take advantage of Hummingbird Update

If you stop and think about what the job of a search engine is, it’s to deliver the best results to the end user. What Google or even Bing wants to avoid is delivering spammy or unrelated search results. Today more than ever, Internet users are more educated on how to use search engines like Google.

Rather than typing in single or double keywords, they are typing what’s called long tail keywords: long strings of text and very specific terms in the form of questions. Essentially, they are asking questions and looking for answers from their computers, smartphones and tablets.

As human beings, when someone asks you a question, you are expecting a logical reply in the form of an answer. Today, using a search engine to find answers is the norm, but receiving a logical answer from a machine is not the result.

Hummingbird is Google’s answer to this. Let’s face it: Google has all the data — they know what people are searching for, and how they are searching. Rarely do we just type a term like “broken bathroom pipe.”

In fact, search is showing that people are less frequently typing “city + keyword” like “Dallas Plumber.” Today’s searcher and/or consumer is typing long tail keywords in the form of questions such as, “Who is the best Plumber in Dallas?”

This is a great opportunity for contractors because you are finally on a level playing field. Gone are the trickery and black hat tactics of gaming the system to get your website ranked higher than your competitors. However, what’s needed now is time, thought and hard work. You’re the expert; now you just have to answer the questions.

Creating a game plan

So how do you give answers if you don’t know what the questions are?

Simple! Start with the logical stuff first. I like to start any Internet Marketing Campaign with a game plan. I create a list of problems I know a homeowner is facing:

1. Is the contractor licensed and insured?
2. Is the contractor the most reliable? Does he do GREAT work?
3. Who is he?
4. If he is a plumber? Does he do plumbing repairs?

This is a small example. After a good planning session, you should be able to come up with 15 to 20 items based on your experience answering questions over the years. With this list in place, it’s time to create content around it.

A search for “The Best Plumbing Contractor in Allentown” can bring your site high in search if your content answers this question, so your page might look like this:

Title Tag: Allentown Plumbing Contractor | The Best Allentown Plumber

H1 Tag: Are you looking for the best plumbing contractor in Allentown, Pa? (this is the section title of the page content)

Content: This is where you answer the question and give examples in the form of customer testimonials.

I like to refer to these as the typical ones because you know consumers are looking for trust first.

Use analytics to create rich content

Now it’s time to dig a little deeper and use what actual people are searching. We do this by using analytics. Your website should have some type of analytics tool coded into the pages; this gives you a lot of valuable marketing information.

Browsing through the keywords that users typed to find your website will reveal questions and also give you the basis to form your own questions.

For example, you may see a search term like this: “Tankless Water Heater Cost Benefits.” Write your content in the form of a Q and A such as, “What are the cost benefits of a tankless water heater vs. a tank water heater?” Now develop a page of content around 500 words answering this question. This is rich content that Google loves and will reward you by ranking you higher in search.

You should make a habit of revisiting your analytics results on a monthly basis to form content that people are hungry for. This is Google’s attempt at providing the best search results for its users. Whenever you are starting an Internet Marketing Campaign, try and get your mindset into what Google is looking for.

Google wants to deliver the best, most relevant search results for its users. What Google does not want is what’s called thin content. Thin content is the bare minimum. It’s the same stuff that’s already been published, but just rewritten. Concentrate on fresh original content and reap the rewards of higher results.

Feed the monster and the monster will reward you!

Dean Iodice is one of the authors of the groundbreaking book, “Internet Marketing & SEO For Contractors.” He is also president of ContractorSEO, which specializes in helping contractors across the U.S. increase their sales and revenue via effective online marketing. Learn more at www.contractorseo.net. Contact Dean at 866-493-9910 or [email protected].