Google Algorithm Update History

Google is known for its continuous updates, and while these updates are always for the betterment and quality of search results, it can be an area of concern trying to keep up with them – as well as tackling whether your hard work for Search Engine Optimisation has been negatively impacted for any new update the search engine chooses to release.

Google’s updates vary in nature, as some can be minor, but others can be vast new algorithms which may change everything you already knew about search results and trying to rise within the ranks.

For those businesses trying to keep track and for a search engine marketing agency trying to understand how and why rankings have changed or been affected, knowing when Google has made any relevant updates can be very important in helping to analyse analytics and more.

To keep you in the loop, you can find below an extensive Google update history which will help you to get a better grip on the timeline, and which updates have recently occurred.

Why Is It Important to Stay Informed About Google Updates?

Staying in the know regarding Google updates can help you to optimise content and ensure that you are not doing anything which could negatively impact your rankings on the search engine results page. As new updates roll out, each one may come with a different algorithm which may analyse your familiar practices differently. It is important to know what the latest update is watching out to prioritise authoritative and quality content so that you can make sure your online practices are adhering to that.

Additionally, SEO experts need to remain in the loop about Google updates so that they can better analyse ranking and SEO data. This is particularly important if there has been a significant drop in rankings with no evident reason. If this happens around the time of a Google update, there is always a possibility that the update could be directly responsible for the drop in rankings, and SEO services, therefore, need to be aware of that.

Google Algorithm Update Timeline

Over the past several years, Google has unveiled some significant updates, as well as minor refreshes and changes. Below lists the important Google update names you need to be aware of, and the dates they occurred. Google has an extensive list of updates, both officially named and confirmed, and also some unconfirmed and perhaps merely referenced or suspected. This list deals with the updates which have been officially confirmed. What is clear is that where there is a crucial algorithm update to pay attention to, Google will make you aware of it.

Major Algorithm Updates

The Panda Update 2011

This update’s first appearance was February 2011, and it was labelled as a “pretty big algorithmic improvement” by Google in terms of ranking methods. Its aim was to reduce the amount of low-quality content which appeared as top search results, striving to reward more engaging and well-written content, as well as content which was deemed unique. This came as a response to many individuals noting how “content farms” would manipulate rankings by bulking up sites with low-quality content rather than correctly implementing Search Engine Optimisation services.

This update came with an algorithm which would rate the quality of website pages to incorporate a proper ranking factor based on value.

Some of the considerations Google makes regarding content with this update include questions such as:

• Is the article written by an expert in their field?
• Does the website have many duplicates of the same articles, with minor variations?
• Does the article have proper spelling and grammar, or is it sloppy and full of mistakes?
• Would users trust the article and website, such as being happy to provide personal information or credit card information?
• Is the article applicable to an audience of the site?
• Does the article provide original content?

In considering questions such as these, the Panda update sought to weed out low-quality content which was providing the bare-minimum simply to get ranked and wanted instead to push up relevant and engaging content higher up the results page.

To best recover from this particular update within the Google ranking update history, businesses could seek to improve the quality of their content and look to work with an SEO service to ensure that more high-quality content would be provided.

The Penguin Update 2012

The next update in the Google updates list was launched in 2012. This algorithm update was formulated to target link spam and unorthodox link buildingLink building is a process of acquiring links pointing to your website. These links are obtained by creating content, participating in social media or commenting on other blogs.. This included any businesses which were seeking a high number of backlinks from unworthy sites, simply to seem more authoritative and thereby improve their position on the search engine results page.

Penguin’s purpose was to tackle low-quality content, which included keyword stuffingKeyword stuffing is a technique that attempts to give pages higher rankings in search engine result pages by inserting the same keywords over and over again. and overuse of linksHyperlinks, also known as links, are the connection points on a webpage that take you to other webpages., to avoid these businesses being ranked higher than those who were actually linking appropriately and using the correct techniques coupled with SEO specialist advice. Google, therefore, wanted to reward the content which was doing everything correctly and professionally.

As one of the Google updates 2015, Penguin received a data refresh, one of the many refreshes it would receive. As part of Google updates 2016, Penguin 4.0 was announced and unveiled, which worked to target bad links themselves to devalue them rather than the site itself. As a process of the Google algorithm update 2016, Penguin 4.0 also rolled out Phase 2, in which it sought to reverse all previous penalties based on old versions of the update.

The Hummingbird Update 2013

Another update search engine Google made was Hummingbird, back in 2013. This update would not focus on the content itself, but rather the best way to ensure all content reached the relevant users. With Hummingbird, Google wanted to ensure that all search queries were met with the best type of content to answer a user’s question.

Google wanted to better understand searcher intent to better define the list of search results available to a user. Therefore, with Hummingbird, Google wanted to step it up a notch in the realm of context and understand word usage and semantics. This included understanding better how specific search phrases and words paired together could mean different things, and to be more aware of how search engine users choose to use their words and phrases.

In light of this new update within Google algorithm change history, an SEO agency at the time would note that this improvement actually didn’t have an extensive negative impact on any search engine rankings for businesses.

Within this update, Google paired up both its Semantic Search and Knowledge GraphThe Knowledge Graph is a knowledge base that Google uses to organize information. capabilities to provide the most relevant information possible on a results page. With its Semantic Search, Google strived to have a broader understanding of language as a whole and to also be able to make word choice suggestions for users within queries. Furthermore, this update significantly improved Google’s Knowledge Graph — or its base of knowledge — in allowing the search engine to store and present more relevant data to any user.

A prime example of how the Hummingbird update assisted with a better store of knowledge is shown through Google’s presentation of an additional information panel on the right-hand side of the screen. Any user will be presented with a key image and a summary of facts in direct correlation to their search query before they have even clicked on any links provided on the search engine results page.

Additionally, Google sought to understand more informal phrases users may use to search for something, keeping in mind that many search users forgo grammatically correct word usage when searching, or may use colloquial slang even to find something online.

The Pigeon Update 2014

When considering Google algorithm updates 2014, the Pigeon update of July 2014 not only needs to be considered as an essential algorithm change but perhaps the most important algorithm changes for local businesses when it comes to ranking.

Pigeon concentrated on the betterment of results for the sake of local businesses in an organic fashion. It also wanted to improve the experience for the users themselves if searching for a local need, and thereby be provided with the best results in their area — a positive update for both local businesses and users alike.

In keeping with Google’s love of organic and authentic businesses and content, the Pigeon update strived to present strong local businesses more frequently within search engine results pages when relevant. This update worked to avoid judging based on size or brand popularity, and instead wanted to present any local business which deserved to be included in the search results page. This meant also considering those local brick and mortar stores which operated extensively in a physical way, rather than being an online store or brand. Google wanted to ensure that no physical, local stores were being presented on the backfoot compared to huge online stores which may have a more significant presence. As long as the local business had an authentic and trustworthy presence, Google wanted to offer it as a top result.

To achieve all this, Google needed to optimise ranking signals for Google Search and Google Maps. This would result in Google’s location abilities being improved to always ensure that relevant local businesses could be included in the search, and that proximity factors were always accurate.

Luckily, as any SEO expert would note, it seems that the Pigeon update has been a huge success since 2014, and improved the results for local businesses and local search significantly.

The Medic Update 2018

A key part of the Google algorithm update history, 2018’s Medic Update was one of the biggest ever by Google. Its focus was primarily on websites or pages related to health or medical topics. What Google intended with this update was to improve the quality of results within the medical field.

What was referenced as a more general and global update — and, indeed, any website may have been affected by Medic — it was nonetheless still clear that medical sites, in particular, were being targeted. Any b2b SEO strategy expert or SEO agency at the time would note that medical, health or fitness sites may have been affected during the time of August 2018.

Other Updates

Google PageRank Update History 2013

This update was namely a Google toolbar update presented in December of 2013. This would be the final PageRank update ever, after being used and updated consistently since 2007. Due to the final update being rolled out and therefore PageRank failing to be updated since 2013, many SEO b2b specialists and general Search Engine Optimisation experts have therefore deemed PageRank as an outdated feature which perhaps should not be taken into account in modern-day SEO techniques.

Nevertheless, PageRank seems to still be a part of Google’s algorithm.

PageRank’s main focus was on the value of a webpage. It would judge this value based on a mathematical formula which would determine both the quality and quantity of other web pages which link to it. Its aim was always to determine the relevance of a webpage at a given time and therefore rank it. As always, this came intending to improve the quality of search engine results and the search engine itself.

It is challenging to think of a time before Google, but it is important to remember that PageRank would have been a convenient tool for older search engine models like Yahoo.

PageRank used a system based on authoritative references, whereby it deemed the importance of one page by noting how often it had been referenced by others. It is still an essential foundation of Google as we know it today.

The Fred Update 2017

Deemed the ‘Fred’ update, this came as a response to rumours of an update in general. Initially, it was considered that Google was focusing on low-quality content, but initially, they would not provide much information about what was going on.

The update’s name, when officially confirmed in March, was jokingly given the name Fred by a Google representative as Fred was common name, and it soon came to light that Fred was not one specific update, but rather a blanket term for any quality-related algorithm update that does not have its own name.

For now, Fred can be considered as the term for a series of quality updates which targeted anything which did not adhere to Webmaster Guidelines. Any update which is related to quality and otherwise unnamed can, therefore, be called Fred.

so, wanna name it? @i_praveensharma @JohnMu

— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) March 9, 2017

The Owl Update 2017

Google search engine update 2017 saw a change which sought to target fake news in particular. The Owl update consisted of both an algorithm update and procedure change to manage misleading content online. Google wanted to target fake news and eliminate any offensive or deceptive information appearing in search results.

With the Owl update, Google wanted to make relevant tweaks which would improve the appearance of authoritative content on results pages as opposed to misleading content. To do so, the search engine updated its quality guidelines to make sure that algorithms were working on fetching high-quality content.

Furthermore, Google reached out to users to identify fake news by providing feedback forms for autocomplete suggestions and featured snippets to gain feedback from searchers in light of results which may have appeared misleadingly, or not deemed relevant enough.

RankBrainRankBrain is Google's third-generation artificial intelligence system that is used to process search queries. 2015

Google update 2015 saw RankBrain being confirmed by the search engine giant, unveiled as a key component of Google’s core algorithm which would use machine learningMachine Learning is the branch of artificial intelligence (AI) that gives computers the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed. to determine quality search engine results. This model considers possible factors associated with any search query.

Snippet Length Drop Update 2018

An essential Google update May 2018, noted within Moz.com Google algorithm change, was a cut back of snippet visuals within the search engine. While originally up to 300+ characters, Google made the change to cut it back to around 150-160 characters, which was actually the former limit before the change was made.

Most Recent Google Algorithm Update 2020

Another core update has been confirmed by Google this month, which caused ranking unrest at the beginning of May. While it is unclear at this stage what the update was striving for, it has been noted that it is the second-highest core update following 2018’s Medic update.

Google Updates and SEO

With the mass of ongoing Google updates, it is clear that businesses and any b2b SEO agency or SEO specialist not only have to consider new updates which have been unleashed, but also old updates which may have received a refresh. It is always possible that old updates still affect rankings, and SEO specialists, therefore, have to work even harder to keep track of any relevant Google updates and ensure that all content is adhering to Google’s guidelines. Quick changes can easily be made by the search engine, but it only takes a small change to affect all the online content provided on a website.

If you need any further information or SEO guidelines, contact Click Intelligence today, where the team are here to help you out.