Will hashtags replace keywords?

Wdd Logo.
October 10, 2013
Will hashtags replace keywords?.

thumbnailGoogle have announced that all their searches are now encrypted. All of them. Every single one. This means no more keyword data will be passed back to site owners.

Anyone watching keyword search activity to their site will already have noted that the ratio of "[not provided]" keywords has been steadily rising for years. With this latest release, your only keyword information will be from non-Google searches.

Debate about the impact of these changes (as well as the real motivation behind them) is already in full swing.

In what may be yet another effort to point users to Google+, the company has also rolled out hashtag searching (the G+ community has had this since May).

When a user submits a hashtagged search in the familiar Google search field, they not only get their regular results, but also, in a column on the right, live scrolling results from Google+ content.

Additionally Google's 'Hummingbird' tech update tackles something much more exciting than Caffeine, which jolted the internet marketing world when it rolled out in 2010. While Caffeine improved indexing speed and delivered fresher search results, Hummingbird promises to drastically raise the bar on search sophistication.

Rather than parsing users' searches word-by-word, the new algorithm allows Google to intelligently and quickly analyze full questions. Google's search engine has begun to understand concepts, relationships between concepts, and even more complex questions.

We may at last, have arrived at the point where manipulating a page to pack it with keyword terms is pointless. If this is true, it means we can get back to crafting well-written, informative content. We can once again produce work to share and create value, and to communicate ideas.

Will hashtag searches persuade you to join Google+? Will Hummingbird kill-off the keyword? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Featured image/thumbnail, hummingbird image via Shutterstock.

WDD Staff

WDD staff are proud to be able to bring you this daily blog about web design and development. If there's something you think we should be talking about let us know @DesignerDepot.

Read Next

30 Most Exciting New Tools for Designers, 2023

As we near the end of 2023, we wanted to take a look back over all the tools we collected over the past year, to pick…

3 Essential Design Trends, December 2023

While we love the holidays, too much of a seasonal theme can get overwhelming. Thankfully, these design trends strike a…

10 Easy Ways to Make Money as a Web Designer

When you’re a web designer, the logical way to make money is designing websites; you can apply for a job at an agency,…

The 10 Most Hated Fonts of All Time

Remember when Comic Sans wasn’t the butt of the jokes? Long for the days when we actually enjoyed using the Impact…

15 Best New Fonts, November 2023

2023 is almost over, and the new fonts are still coming thick and fast. This month, we’ve found some awesome variable…

Old School Web Techniques Best Forgotten

When the web first entered the public consciousness back in the 90s, it was primarily text-based with minimal design…

20 Best New Websites, November 2023

As the nights draw in for the Northern hemisphere, what better way to brighten your day than by soaking up some design…

30 Amazing Chrome Extensions for Designers and Developers

Searching for a tool to make cross-platform design a breeze? Desperate for an extension that helps you figure out the…

Exciting New Tools for Designers, November 2023

We’ve got a mix of handy image helpers, useful design assets, and clever productivity tools, amongst other treats. Some…

The Dangers of Doomscrolling for Designers and How to Break Free

As a creative professional, navigating the digital realm is second nature to you. It’s normal to follow an endless…

From Image Adjustments to AI: Photoshop Through the Years

Remember when Merriam-Webster added Photoshop to the dictionary back in 2008? Want to learn how AI is changing design…

3 Essential Design Trends, November 2023

In the season of giving thanks, we often think of comfort and tradition. These are common themes with each of our three…