What is Google Hummingbird?
Google Hummingbird was a significant algorithm update that improved Google’s ability to understand search queries and deliver more relevant search results. It was released in August 2013.
Before the Hummingbird update, Google determined the results to display by matching the keywords in the search query with those in the content displayed in search results. However, with the Hummingbird update, Google focused on displaying content that matched the searcher’s intent.
Google currently lists Hummingbird as a retired search ranking system. This means Google has replaced it with another algorithm or incorporated it into its core ranking system.