DHAKA: Google has quietly retooled the closely guarded formula running its internet search engine to give better answers to the increasingly complex questions posed by web surfers.

The overhaul came as part of an update called ‘Hummingbird’ that Google Inc has gradually rolled out in the past month without disclosing the modifications.

The changes could have a major impact on traffic to websites, reports The Straits Times.

Hummingbird represents the most dramatic alteration to its search engine since it revised the way it indexes websites three years ago as part of a redesign called ‘Caffeine’, according to Amit Singhal, a company vice-president.

He estimates that the redesign affects about 90 per cent of the search requests Google gets.

Any reshuffling of Google’s search rankings can have sweeping ramifications because they steer so much of the Internet`s traffic. In the United States, Google fields about two of out every three search requests in the US and handles an even larger volume in part of Europe.

BDST: 0635 HRS, SEPT 27, 2013
RoR/GCP