Google has always had one mission: to link people to answers to their search queries. The recent Google Hummingbird update – the biggest overhaul of the Google algorithm in possibly a decade – is simply another step to making sure that people are provided with information that answers their questions.
One of the types of articles that we’ve pushed for here at Great Leap Studios is the idea of the “authority article.” Authority articles are long, detailed articles that are dedicated to a single topic. They can be as long as 5,000 words or more, although some are closer to 2,000 depending on topic.
What Makes Authority Content Important
Authority content has always played a useful role in online marketing. These long articles do not make a significant impact in terms of SEO, but they do:
- Generate natural incoming links.
- Generate numerous social media shares.
- Generate many different long tails.
If you had a budget for one 5,000 word article or ten 500 word articles, we would generally recommend the ten 500 word articles, because they provide you with more opportunities to target different topics. But if you have the budget for both, authority articles have always been very valuable.
Hummingbird and Authority Articles
While the specifics of Google Hummingbird are still being released, the new update appears to finally be rewarding content for depth of information. Originally a 5000 word article had more value to the reader than it did to search engines, but it appears that long, detailed posts on topics are becoming more rewarded than they had been in the past, and this represents a significant and valuable change for website owners.
While the sheer cost of these articles along with the time spent if you try to do them yourself can be prohibitive for some companies, those that can afford it may find that a few very long, detailed posts are exactly what you need. While the specifics and kinks of Hummingbird are still being worked out, it appears that these posts may have more value now than they ever had in the past, and they could represent a very valuable investment for your business.
