The Big Ol’ Timeline of Google Algorithm Updates
We can’t live without Google, love it or hate it. But Google forever changes its mind, much like an ex-partner. In this digital era, it’s crucial to stay ahead of the curve and keep up to date, and Google knows this. We outlined some of the major updates Google has implemented since 2011 (Yes, it is that long ago, you’re old, we’re old, get over it).
Google’s algorithms are a system used to retrieve data from its search index and instantly deliver the best possible results for a query. The search engine uses algorithms and numerous ranking factors to deliver webpages ranked by relevance on its search engine results pages (SERPs). In its early years, Google only made a handful of algorithm updates. Now, Google makes thousands of changes every year.
Now that we know what Google Algorithms are let’s start our Google history lesson!
1. Panda (No, not the song by Desiigner)
Date: February 24, 2011
The Panda algorithm update assigns a so-called “quality score” to web pages. This score is then used as a ranking factor.
2. C̶l̶u̶b̶ Penguin
Date: April 24, 2012
Google Penguin’s objective is to down-rank sites whose backlinks look unnatural. This update put an end to low-effort link building, like buying links from link farms.
3. Hummingbird
Date: August 22, 2013
The Hummingbird algorithm helps Google better interpret search queries and provide results that match searcher intent (as opposed to the individual terms within the query). While keywords remain important, the Hummingbird algorithm makes it possible for a page to rank for a query even if it doesn’t contain the exact words the searcher entered. This is achieved with the help of natural language processing that relies on latent semantic indexing, co-occurring terms and synonyms.
4. Pigeon
Date: July 24, 2014 (US), and December 22 2014 (UK, Canada, Australia)
The update focused on the quality of On-page and Off-page SEOs. As per Google, Pigeon created closer ties between the local and core algorithms, meaning that the same SEO factors are now being used to rank local and non-local results. The key factors Pigeon update uses in ranking the results are location and distance.
5. Mobile
Date: April 21, 2015
This and subsequent mobile search updates (2018, 2020) have shifted the focus from a desktop to a mobile version of your website. Today, Google ranks all websites based on how fast and user-friendly their mobile versions are.
6. RankBrain
Date: October 26, 2015
RankBrain is a part of Google’s Hummingbird algorithm. It is a machine learning system that helps Google understand the meaning behind queries and serve best-matching search results in response to those queries.
While we have yet to determine the exact formula behind this significant update, the consensus is that RankBrain is responsible for customizing a user’s Google search results. Google goes beyond a person’s search query and considers the larger context, like synonyms, implied words, and personal search history.
7. Possum
Date: September 1, 2016
This algorithm update is famous for a number of changes in Google’s local ranking filter. The closer you are to a business’s address, the more likely you are to see it among local results. After the Possum update, Google returned more varied results depending on the searcher’s physical location. Moreover, Possum also gave a boost to businesses that are outside the physical city area.
8. Fred
Date: March 8, 2017
The update focused on websites that violate Google’s webmaster guidelines. So most of the affected sites are blogs having low-quality posts. These posts are created mainly to generate ad revenue or affiliate revenue. Marketers or web admins creating these sites to generate revenue would penalize under this update.
9. Broad Core Algorithm Update
Date: March 9, 2018
This update focused on understanding the user’s search queries and website. The main goal is to enhance Google’s accuracy in matching search queries and provide a better user experience and satisfaction. So the pages that were not rewarded earlier now will rank better.
10. Bert
Date: October 22, 2019
How it works: This Google algorithm update uses natural language processing technology to better understand search queries, interpret text, and identify entities and relationships between entities. We’ve seen Panda, Hummingbird and RankBrain updates move away from keywords. The BERT update is the culmination of this effort — it allows Google to understand much more nuance in both queries and search results.
11. Core Updates
Date: 2017-present
As far back as 2017, Google has started to refer to more significant updates as Google core updates. Since then, there has been even less transparency about what those updates are and which parts of the search they are intended to improve. SEOs would often track post-update ranking shifts and try to figure out what exactly has changed, but there is rarely a conclusive observation. Google core updates are likely improvements on previous Google updates or bundles of more minor updates.
And that is all for now, folks! We have listed only significant updates which are important and relevant. We hope the article was helpful enough for you to grasp the concept of major Google Algorithm Updates.