Hummingbird was a major rewrite of Google's overall ranking systems, in use from August 2013 and announced in September 2013. It was designed to pay more attention to the meaning of the whole query rather than individual words. Google now lists it under retired systems in its ranking systems guide, noting its systems have evolved since. There is nothing to optimise for today, but the shift it started, from keywords to meaning, runs through RankBrain, BERT and neural matching.
What is Hummingbird?
Hummingbird was the name Google gave to a major rebuild of its core ranking systems, which its ranking systems guide dates to August 2013. Rather than a single update layered onto the existing algorithm, it replaced the overall system, and older components such as PageRank continued inside it.
Google now lists it in the retired section of its ranking systems guide.
This was a major improvement to our overall ranking systems made in August 2013. Our ranking systems have continued to evolve since then, just as they had been evolving before.
Google, A guide to Google Search ranking systems, Google Search Central
What did Hummingbird change?
Google's stated aim was to handle longer, conversational queries by considering the meaning of the whole query rather than matching individual words. Search Engine Land's FAQ at launch, written by Danny Sullivan before he joined Google, described it as a replacement for the whole engine rather than a change to parts of it, and reported Google saying it paid more attention to the whole query rather than particular words.
That distinction is why Hummingbird is often confused with Panda and Penguin. Those were changes to parts of the ranking system; Hummingbird was the system.
Panda, Penguin and other updates were changes to parts of the old algorithm, but not an entire replacement of the whole.
Danny Sullivan, Search Engine Land, FAQ: All About The New Google Hummingbird Algorithm, Search Engine Land
What evidence is there that Google used Hummingbird?
The evidence label is Confirmed. Google announced Hummingbird at its 15th birthday press event, and its ranking systems guide still names it, dated to August 2013.
The dates differ by source because of how it launched. Wikipedia records the announcement on 26 September 2013, about a month after it went live, which matches the August 2013 date in Google's guide.
The change was announced on September 26, 2013, having already been in use for a month.
Wikipedia, Google Hummingbird, Wikipedia
What does retired mean for Hummingbird?
Google's guide keeps a list of retired systems for historical purposes and says these have either been folded into successor systems or into its core ranking systems. The guide does not say which applies to Hummingbird specifically; it says only that ranking systems have kept evolving since.
So the accurate statement is that Hummingbird no longer exists as a named, separately tracked system. Claims that a site was "hit by Hummingbird" today have no basis in Google's documentation.
The following systems are noted for historical purposes. They've either been incorporated into successor systems or made part of our core ranking systems.
Google, A guide to Google Search ranking systems, Google Search Central
What should sites take from Hummingbird now?
Nothing to optimise for, but a useful test. Hummingbird was designed to send searchers to the page that answers their question rather than to a site's home page. A decade on, the check that still matters is whether question style queries land on a page that answers them, or on a generic home, category or hub page.
Which Laurelin audit checks test for Hummingbird?
Hummingbird is retired, so no check tests it directly. These checks test the query meaning behaviour it introduced, now carried by live systems such as RankBrain and BERT.
Question queries land on generic hub pages: the new check for this page.
Content not matching search intent: the general intent mismatch.
Question heading with no direct answer: conversational queries need a direct answer.
Keyword stuffing and over-optimisation: the keyword led writing Hummingbird moved away from.
Weak topic cluster structure: without specific pages per question, hubs absorb queries they cannot answer.
What are the key dates for Google Hummingbird?
Frequently asked questions about Google Hummingbird
Is Hummingbird still used by Google?
Google lists Hummingbird as a retired system. Its guide says ranking systems have kept evolving since the August 2013 change.
Was Hummingbird a penalty update like Panda or Penguin?
No. Hummingbird was a rebuild of the overall ranking system, while Panda and Penguin were changes to parts of it.