Google Reveals Hummingbird Search Algorithm Update on its Anniversay

Google this week announced one of the biggest changes to its search engine - a rewriting of its algorithm to handle more complex queries that affects 90 percent of all searches. Calling it Hummingbird, the technological update of Google search is designed to handle more complex queries.

Announcing it as the culmination of 15 years of work, the news was revealed by Amit Singhal, Google's senior VP, one day before Google officially celebrates its 15th birthday.

The company made the changes, executives said, because Google users are asking increasingly long and complex questions and are searching Google more often on mobile phones with voice search.

The algorithm builds on work Google has done to understand conversational language, like interpreting what pronouns in a search query refer to, and doesn’t so much change the way Google searches the Web, but how it displays the results.

Few other specifics were revealed about the changes, but announcers did say that the new algorithm allows Google to more quickly parse full questions (as opposed to parsing searches word-by-word), and to identify and rank answers to those questions from the content they’ve indexed.

Microsoft Makes Kinect Code Open Source

Microsoft have released 22 samples in C#, C++, and Visual Basic on how to interface directly with the Kinect hardware. Under the license, the code can be reused, amended, etc, for developers to produce their own applications that utilise the hardware.

Previously, developers wanting to use the Kinect hardware had to use an official software toolkit that hid the underlying code.

Android is Best Selling Mobile OS

Android regained the top spot as the best selling smartphone platform in the 3 months ending January 2013¹.

In the US, Android devices took a 49% share of the market, compared to Apple’s IOS devices which took 45.9%. This represents a rise of 6.4% for Android compared to the same quarter last year, and a drop of 4.7% for IOS.

A similar trend was seen in the UK, with Android taking 56.2% of the smartphone sales, up 6.9% from previous quarter, and IOS rising only 1.3% to 30.6%.

Whilst data is not available for individual Android devices during the three-month holiday season, it does illustrate a shift in the smartphone OS audience that could continue to grow into 2013.

Notably, Windows Phone is slowly gaining popularity with consumers, growing its user base in Great Britain by 3.8%, but still remaining a small player in comparison.

References
1. According to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Network Shares Report;

Internet Explorer 10 Released

Microsoft has announced that the official release of Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 is now available.

The new version is available by direct download and will also be rolled out via Windows Update in the coming weeks.

The browser has been available on Windows 8 Computers and Windows RT tablets since October 2012. The Windows 7 version will see the same touch enabled interface design, integrated spell checking and auto correct features, as well as better support for Web standards such as HTML 5.

Another notable addition is the ‘Do Not Track’ feature – which asks websites not to track a users’ browsing history – which is enabled by default.

Microsoft claim that improved JavaScript performance together with other improvements have given the new browser a 20% speed bump over its predecessor as well as better battery life for mobile users.

Contact Industrial Pixel to find out how we can help you, or your clients, business in its digital marketing requirements.

Google Releases Latest Algorithm Update

Google has released their latest batch of search algorithm updates, the first of 2013, and one of a series aimed at “..improved rankings for a large number of high-quality websites..”. Whilst the exact details of the updates remain secret, they do provide clues by way of the questions we should be asking ourselves when considering what ranking signals Google may be listening to.
We should ask ourselves:

• Would you trust the information presented on this page/site?
• Is this page/site written by an expert or enthusiast who knows the topic well, or is it shallow in nature?
• Does the site have duplicate, overlapping, or redundant pages on the same or similar topics with slightly different keyword variations?
• Would you be comfortable giving your credit card information to this site?
• Does this page have spelling, stylistic, or factual errors?
• Are the topics driven by genuine interests of readers of the site, or does the site generate content by attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?
• Does the page/site provide original content or information, original reporting, original research, or original analysis?
• Does the page provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
• How much quality control is done on content?
• Does the page describe both sides of a story?
• Is the site a recognized authority on its topic?
• Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don’t get as much attention or care?
• Was the page edited well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
• For a health related query, would you trust information from this site?
• Would you recognize this site as an authoritative source when mentioned by name?
• Does this page provide a complete or comprehensive description of the topic?
• Does this page contain insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?
• Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
• Does this page have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content?
• Would you expect to see this page in a printed magazine, encyclopaedia or book?
• Are the pages short, unsubstantial, or otherwise lacking in helpful specifics?
• Are the pages produced with great care and attention to detail vs. less attention to detail?
• Would users complain when they see pages from this site?

Industrial Pixel have a large range of expertise in all stages of search engine optimization and search engine management. Contact us to find out how we can help you, or your clients, business in its digital marketing requirements.