Google Hummingbird (2013)
Shift to semantic search: understanding the meaning of whole queries, not single keywords.
DateAug 2013 (announced Sep 26, 2013)
PlatformGoogle SEO
TypeCore rewrite
Who it affectsAll sites; rise of conversational queries
What happened
Hummingbird was a rewrite of Google’s core search algorithm, designed to understand the meaning of whole queries rather than matching individual keywords. It prepared Google for longer, conversational searches and voice search, and laid the groundwork for later language systems such as RankBrain and BERT.
Who it affected
All sites; rise of conversational queries.
What it means for marketers today
Write naturally for the questions people ask and cover topics fully, rather than repeating exact keywords. See search intent 101.