Google Algorithm Update Tracker

A broad core update re-assessing content relevance and quality signals site-wide, part of Google’s ongoing regular core update cadence.

A broad core update continuing Google’s post-March 2024 effort to better surface original, helpful content and further reduce unhelpful, search-engine-first content.

A major, months-long combined core and spam update that introduced new spam policies targeting scaled content abuse, site reputation abuse ("parasite SEO"), and expired-domain abuse. Google stated the goal was to significantly reduce low-quality, unoriginal content in search results.

A broad core update shipped alongside a further Reviews Update, continuing to refine how in-depth, first-hand review content is assessed and ranked.

A broad core update rolled out alongside a companion spam update, together adjusting content relevance signals and further cracking down on spam techniques.

A broad core update adjusting how Google assesses and ranks content for relevance and quality, with no single signal or type of content specifically targeted.

A broad core update re-evaluating and re-weighing content and ranking signals across search, part of Google’s regular cadence of core relevance updates.

Targeted spam techniques such as cloaking, auto-generated content, and expired-domain abuse, using improvements to Google’s automated spam-detection systems.

Introduced a site-wide signal aimed at rewarding content written primarily for people, and demoting content produced mainly to attract search engine traffic.

Used Google’s SpamBrain system to more effectively identify and neutralize link spam, including sites participating in link exchanges built purely to manipulate rankings.

Introduced Core Web Vitals (loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability) alongside mobile-friendliness and safe browsing as page experience ranking signals.

Rewarded in-depth, original product review content backed by real research or testing, and demoted thin reviews that simply rehashed manufacturer descriptions.

A natural language processing model that improved Google’s ability to understand context and nuance in conversational, longer-tail queries.

A broad core update that had an outsized effect on health, medical, and other YMYL ("Your Money or Your Life") sites, widely linked to increased emphasis on E-A-T (expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness).

Google began primarily using the mobile version of a page’s content for indexing and ranking, rolled out gradually across sites starting in 2018.

An unofficially named update, widely reported by SEOs to have impacted sites with aggressive ad placements and low-value, affiliate-heavy content that offered little unique value.

Penguin was rebuilt to run in real time as part of the core algorithm, devaluing spammy links rather than demoting an entire site for a bad backlink profile.

A machine-learning system that helps Google interpret ambiguous or previously unseen queries and match them to relevant results, becoming one of the core ranking signals.

Boosted the rankings of mobile-friendly pages in mobile search results, giving site owners a strong incentive to adopt responsive or mobile-optimized designs.

Tied local search ranking signals more closely to Google’s core web ranking algorithm, improving the relevance and accuracy of local and map-based results.

A full rewrite of the core ranking algorithm focused on understanding the intent and contextual meaning behind a query rather than matching individual keywords.

Targeted spammy and manipulative link schemes, including paid links and keyword-stuffed anchor text, penalizing sites that tried to game rankings through unnatural backlink profiles.

Targeted thin, duplicate, and low-quality content, boosting sites with original, high-quality content in search rankings. Panda saw many refreshes over the years before being folded into the core ranking algorithm in 2016.