Want to rank well in Google? Stop freaking out about keywords.

Suffice to say Google weren’t impressed and deemed these devious SEO strategies ‘black-hat’ practices. Such behaviour encouraged stale writing, rather than the quality content Google strived to serve its users. So the search giant began cracking the whip on keyword-stuffing almost as soon as it became a thing. (As early, in fact, as 2003’s Florida update. By the time 2012’s Penguin surfaced, marketers were getting seriously penalised in the rankings for over-using keywords.)

Hummingbird rewards brands who create quality content

Some marketing-types over the last decade have become so obsessed with SEO that they forget there’s a living, breathing human behind every search query. Remember that and you’ll be way ahead of some SEO agencies. Because with the Hummingbird update of 2013, Google began thinking like a person. It learnt context - taking emphasis away from keywords and rewarding quality content.

The Google search of today doesn’t much care for matching the keywords in a query to the keywords on a webpage. Instead it uses context to determine whether your content provides actual value to a searcher’s query. In short: Google wants to serve answers to its users’ questions, rather than a simple list of webpages that mention matching keywords. Insight rules the roost.

The take out: Write for humans, not search engines

Your new SEO strategy? Answer your audience’s questions.

Improving your clout with Google relies on creating helpful, sharable content - on an ongoing basis. Strive to address your audience’s specific questions, fears, needs, desires and ambitions. Solve their problems. Think about the queries and qualms your ideal prospect might turn to Google for help with - then use your content to provide answers in a meaningful, insightful way. Keep your content output high - and relevant to your brand - and Google will soon bump you up the rankings. Not least if your content is good enough and useful enough to be shared across social media.