Major Google Algorithm Updates

Each year, Google claims to update its search algorithm several thousand times. Google algorithm updates are typically too small to be noticed in most cases. Yet, occasionally, Google introduces a change that changes the way we do SEO forever.

Here we will review eight of the most significant changes in search algorithms. We will analyze why these updates were introduced, how they work, and what adjustments had to be made to our SEO strategies in response.

February 23, 2011

Panda Update

A substantial algorithm change (called “Farmer” or “Panda”) was implemented by Google to identify low-quality pages and websites. The content on these pages (usually found on content farms) is relevant for a query but may not provide the best user experience.

Identify low-quality pages and sites, such as (duplicate title and meta descriptions, plagiarized or thin content; user-generated spam; keyword stuffing).

April 24, 2012

Penguin Update

The long-anticipated “over-optimization” penalty was finally imposed today. Earlier this year, Google announced the release of a new (then unnamed) algorithm change designed to penalize websites engaging in aggressive webspam (e.g., keyword stuffing, unnatural linking) that violate the Google Webmaster Guidelines. According to Google, this update will affect 3.1 percent of English queries. The algorithm’s name was announced two days later: Penguin.

Websites engaging in aggressive web spam (e.g., keyword stuffing, unnatural linking) that violate Google’s Webmaster Guidelines may be downranked. 

September 26, 2013

Hummingbird Update

A major overhaul to Google’s core search technology took place with the Hummingbird update. Due to the growth of conversational search i.e., voice search), Google needed to better understand and present the most relevant results for more complex queries. According to Google, the new algorithm affected about 90 percent of searches worldwide. Despite its announcement on this date, this update began rolling out in August 2013.

As a part of its Hummingbird algorithm, Google is able to better understand search queries and deliver results that match the searcher’s intent (rather than the individual terms in the query).

So, focus on the concepts behind the keywords when conducting keyword research.

Mobile-Friendly Update

The Mobile-Friendly Update (or “Mobilegeddon”) was a Google algorithm update designed to reward mobile-friendly websites with higher search rankings and deliver better results to mobile searchers. The update affects all languages in the world.

Consider shifting your attention from a desktop to a mobile version of your website. As of today, Google ranks all websites based on how fast and user-friendly their mobile versions are.

Focus on the speed and usability of your pages in order to optimize them for mobile search.

October 26, 2015

RankBrain

The RankBrain algorithm was already in testing since April 2015, but it was officially unveiled on this day. RankBrain is a machine learning algorithm that filters search results to provide users with the most relevant answers to their queries. At first, RankBrain was incorporated in about 15% of queries (mostly new queries that Google had not seen before), but now it appears in almost every query entered into Google. RankBrain has been referred to as the third most critical ranking factor.

It is a machine learning system that helps Google understand the meaning behind a given query and display the most relevant search results as a result of that understanding.

As part of its functions, RankBrain customizes Google’s search results. Google takes into account a user’s search query, as well as synonyms, implied words, and their personal search history in order to determine the most relevant search results.

May 4, 2018

Medic

The Google Medic update appeared to have disproportionately affected medical websites as well as those websites that dealt with potentially life-altering decisions (finance, law, education). Google representatives have indicated that the update implements some of the E-A-T (expertise, authority, trust) signals in the Quality Rater Guidelines document, even though this has not been explicitly confirmed.

October 25, 2019

BERT Update

According to Google, the BERT Update is the most significant change to Google’s search system in the past five years. Through BERT, Google better understands search queries. Google announced that this change would affect both search rankings and featured snippets. BERT (which stands for Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) will be used in 10 percent of U.S. English searches.

With BERT, Google changed how it interacted with web pages by utilizing a neural network to read pages and learn as humans do.

BERT is able to understand natural language on web pages and relate this information to search queries in practical applications.

As a result of this Google algorithm update, natural language processing technology is used to better understand search queries, interpret text, and identify entities and relationships among them.

Core Updates

Google has been referring to larger updates as Google core updates since 2017. There is even less transparency these days about what these updates are and which parts of search they are intended to enhance. It is common for SEOs to monitor post-update ranking shifts and attempt to determine the exact change, but there is rarely any conclusive evidence. Most Google core updates are likely to be enhancements to previous Google updates or bundles of smaller improvements.

You can track the search engine results for the keywords you are targeting, since the effects of Google core updates are often unknown. After the update, you can track your SERP history and check if any of your competitors have moved up or down in rankings and make an educated guess as to what the contributing factors are.

We at MaxLeads always looking through all the updates on Google to ensure to boost the website ranking and drive more organic traffic.

Leave your website to us we keen to the updates and make your website visible on the first page of search engine results.

“Lift your business to new heights with the best digital marketing agency in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia”