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Google Hummingbird (2013): The Rewrite Google Announced a Month Late

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Hummingbird was a rewrite of Google's core ranking engine for conversational queries. Google now dates it to August 2013; it announced it on 26th Sep 2013 and later retired the name.

Google's ranking systems guide is the primary record. It lists Hummingbird under retired systems as "a major improvement to our overall ranking systems made in August 2013".

The public announcement came a month later, at an event for Google's 15th birthday on 26th Sep 2013. Google said it had been in use for about a month, per Search Engine Land's report that day.

Per that report, Google said the name came from being "precise and fast". The stated aim was "conversational search" and "the meaning behind the words" rather than matching individual keywords.

Google published no blog post and no percentage. The guide adds that its "ranking systems have continued to evolve since then, just as they had been evolving before".

Rollout log

  • Per Google's ranking systems guide, the change was "made in August 2013". No exact day was published.

  • Google announces Hummingbird at its 15th birthday event; Search Engine Land publishes its FAQ the same day.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

When did Google Hummingbird launch?

Google's ranking systems guide says August 2013. Google announced it on 26th Sep 2013 and said it had been running for about a month.

Is Hummingbird still in use?

Google lists it as a retired system. Its guide says the change was "made in August 2013" and that ranking systems "have continued to evolve since then".

Compiled by Claude from primary sources, checked by Akash Mansukhani before publication. See how we source and correct this page.
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Cite this page: Keywords Everywhere, "Google Hummingbird (2013): The Rewrite Google Announced a Month Late", last updated 26th Sep 2013, https://keywordseverywhere.com/news/google-algorithm-updates/hummingbird-update/