Google Algorithm Updates:
Google algorithms are formulas used by their search engine to rank domains and to produce search results for Google users. As you might imagine Google algorithms are incredibly complex. Among other things, they seek out and reward domains (better SERP) while also finding and punishing domains that do not comply with Google quality guidelines. A website can be penalized by a Google algorithm at any time because Google runs their algorithms through the search engine at random. A domain can also be penalized when Google fine-tunes the algorithm and then runs the updated version through their search engine. You won't know you've been penalized until your website is nowhere to be found when searching for your top keywords. The impact of Google's algorithm updates cannot not be understated so don't be fooled by the adorable sounding creatures that symbolize these domain purges: Panda, Penguin and, to a lesser extent, Hummingbird.
- Google Panda - released in February 2011. Google's stated purpose for the Panda update was to make search results more relevant by targeting domains with thin content lacking in any real substance or value to the reader. The domains hit particularly hard by Panda were those posting content from "content farms," the use of which, (in the eyes of Google) made their such results less relevant.
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Google Penguin - released in April 2012. Google's stated purpose for the Penguin update was to decrease search engine rankings for websites with poor quality backlink profiles, excessive keyword rich anchor text, over-optimization for a single term; in general websites that attempt to manipulate search results by using link building schemes. Domains with poor quality backlinks include those with links coming from low quality sites, sites not with no relevance to your domain, paid links, excessively rich keyword links and links with over-optimized anchor text.
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Google Hummingbird - Google released its newest algorithm update, Hummingbird 1.0, in August 2013. Hummingbird is said to be the biggest change in the Google algorithm since their "Caffeine" update in 2009 and probably since 2001. Hummingbird enables the Google search engine to produce better, more relevant results for semantic searches - conversational searches rather than keyword specific searches. These search terms are often called "long tail inquiries."
Google makes many other updates to their search algorithm and not all of them are intended to "police" the web as much as to do routine maintenance and upgrade the Google search engine. Panda, Penguin, and to a lesser extent, the Hummingbird are the ones to guard against.
Google Algorithm Updates - History
2013 Google Algorithm Updates:
Authorship - 12/19/13
Matt Cutts advises attendees at Pubcon Las Vegas of Google's changing view of authorship. By reducing number of authorship related results by 15% Cutts claims quality of search results increased.
http://moz.com/blog/googles-december-authorship-shake-up
http://www.virante.org/blog/2013/12/19/authorshippocalypse-google-authorship-penguin-finally-appeared/
Rumored Update - 12/17/13
Industry-wide talk of Google update based on tracking data but no confirmation from Google. Some monitors noted a rise in partial-match-domains.
http://dejanseo.com.au/2nd-biggest-serp-flux-2013/
http://searchengineland.com/google-denies-a-major-update-on-december-17th-180289
Rumored Update - 11/14/13
Increase in reports of extensive DNS errors, but Google neither confirms or denies an algorithm update.
http://moz.com/blog/was-there-a-november-14th-google-update
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-update-nov15-17689.html
Penguin 2.1 Update - 10/4/2013
Google confirms launch of Penguin 2.1, which is said to be slightly improved version of Penguin 2.0. Matt Cutts indicates that Penguin 2.1 will affect less than 1% of searches to any noticeable degree.
http://searchengineland.com/penguin-2-1-and-5-live-173632
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-penguin-21-big-17479.html
Hummingbird Update - 8/20/13
Hummingbird isn't announced until almost one month after Google launches this major update to their algorithm. One of the biggest changes to Google algorithm, making the search engine much more responsive to searches for long tailed search terms and semantic search.
http://searchengineland.com/google-hummingbird-172816
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-update-17268.html
In-Depth Articles Update - 8/6/13
Google introduces new, algorithm-based search results to assist users in finding in-depth articles and content. Google claims update was made in response to high number of users that use Google to search for information to learn more about a broad range of topics.
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2013/08/in-depth-articles-in-search-results.html
http://moz.com/blog/inside-indepth-articles
Rumored Update - 7/26/13
Industry monitors note big change in their tracking data but no confirmation from Google.
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-weekend-update-17142.html
MozCast Update
Knowledge Graph Extension (KG) Update - 7/19/13
High jump in inquiries that show a knowledge graph (KG), increasing from nearly 18% to almost 27%.
http://moz.com/blog/the-day-the-knowledge-graph-exploded
Panda Recovery Update - 7/18/13
Confirmed update of the Goolge Panda, which is said to be more finely targeted, however exact nature of this Panda update was unclear as Google says that it will not confirm Panda updates any longer. Industry monitors note that this update may have softened prior Panda infractions.
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-panda-update-17094.html
Multi-week Algorithm Update - 6/27/13
A number of Google algorithm updates seem to take place between June 12 and July 4, as alluded to by Matt Cutts. Tremendous changes in rankings take place with many industry analysts concluding that Google is testing changes to the algorithm.
http://moz.com/blog/googles-multi-week-algorithm-update
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-update-confirmed-16981.html
Rolling Panda Update - 6/11/13
Matt Cutts announces at SMX Advanced search market expo that Google Panda algorithm continues to be updated slowly on a monthly basis. Update to the algorithm launched early in the month and then pushed out slowly over the next 10 or so days.
http://searchengineland.com/googles-panda-dance-matt-cutts-confirms-panda-rolls-out-monthly-over-10-of-30-days-162950
Spammy Search Update - The Payday Loan Algorithm - 6/11/13
Also announced at SMX Advanced, Matt Cutts confirms a targeted algorithm update citing spammy websites (payday loans, pornography) in particular for this action.
http://searchengineland.com/google-pay-day-loan-algorithm-google-search-algorithm-update-to-target-spammy-queries-162941
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-pay-day-loan-spam-algo-16917.html
Penguin 2.0 Update - 5/22/13
This is the 4th update of the Google Penguin algorithm update designed to be a better tool to detect and stop spam. Matt Cutts indicates that 2.3% of English searches will be affected by this Penguin update.
http://searchengineland.com/penguin-4-with-penguin-2-0-generation-spam-fighting-is-now-live-160544
http://moz.com/blog/penguin-2-were-you-jarred-and-or-jolted
Domain Clustering/Crowding Update - 5/21/13
Tracking results appear to confirm Matt Cutts video message regarding what turned out to be a domain crowding update; changes in the number of search results displayed from a single root domain.
http://www.highposition.com/blog/google-domain-crowding-update-may-2013/
http://justinbriggs.org/google-domain-clustering-update
Rumored Update - 5/9/13
Unconfirmed rumors of a Google algorithm update based on widespread reports by domains owners claiming a significant loss of traffic.
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-update-now-16762.html
http://www.hmtweb.com/marketing-blog/penguin-2-google-phantom-update-may-2013/
Panda 25 Update - 3/14/2013
Matt Cutts advises attendees at SMX West that an update to the Panda algorithm is in the offing. He also notes that this would be the last update of Panda before the update becomes part of the core algorithm.
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-panda-25-16506.html
http://searchengineland.com/google-panda-update-25-seems-to-have-hit-151732
Panda Update #24 - 1/22/13
Google rolls out its first update of 2013, a new Panda refresh, marking the 24th update to the Panda. The new update impacts on approximately 1.2% of all English searches.
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-panda-24-16255.html
http://searchengineland.com/google-panda-update-version-24-1-2-of-search-queries-impacted-146149
2012 Google Algorithm Updates:
Panda Update #23 - 12/21/2012
Approximately 1.3% of English searches are affected by what is now the 23rd update of the Google Panda.
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-update-maybe-16121.html
Knowledge Graph (KG) Update - 12/4/2012
Google expands knowledge graph to more languages - Italian, Russian, Japanese, French. Spanish, German, Portuguese - and also adds improved knowledge graph capabilities.
http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/12/get-smarter-answers-from-knowledge_4.html
http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/04/googles-knowledge-graph-expands-to-more-languages-including-italian-japanese-and-russian/
Panda Update #21 - 11/5/12
Google Panda update #21 is another minor refresher with approximately 1.1% of English searches impacted following launch of this update.
http://searchengineland.com/google-releases-panda-update-21-138902
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-panda-21-15918.html
Page Layout Algorithm - 10/9/2012
Google updates the page layout algorithm that they launched earlier this year (Jan 2012), which targets websites with an excessive number of ads above the fold.
http://searchengineland.com/google-page-layout-algorithm-update-135847
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-page-layout-update-15815.html
Penguin Update #3 - 10/5/2013
Minor update to Google Penguin algorithm has limited impact o approximately 0.3% of searches.
http://searchengineland.com/google-penguin-update-3-135527
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-penguin-3-15802.html
65 Changes for August and September - announced 10/4/2012
Google announces another installment of search quality highlights citing 65 changes to their search algorithm with details of each listed by unique ID numbers. Of particular note are expansion of knowledge graph (KG), calculation of page quality and local results determinants.
http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/10/search-quality-highlights-65-changes.html
Exact Match Domain (EMD) Update - 9/27/2012
Google announces rollout of minor algorithm change targeting low quality exact match domains. Unrelated to either Panda or Penguin, Matt Cutts indicates that the EMD update will affect approximately 0.6% of U.S. English inquiries.
http://moz.com/blog/googles-emd-algo-update-early-data
http://searchengineland.com/low-quality-exact-match-domains-are-googles-next-target-134889
Panda Update #20 - 9/27/2012
Google launches fairly aggressive update to Panda with full effects taking 3-4 days to make it into the index. Approximately 2.4% of English inquiries impacted by this Panda update.
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-panda-20-15789.html
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-emd-panda-15792.html
SERP 10 to 7 - 8/14/12
Google makes major change to their Top 10, limiting the results to 7 listing for most inquiries. Full impact takes about 4 days. SERPs with 7 results jump from 0.1% to 10.7% and then 18.3% with almost one-fifth of SERP's being tracked showing just 7 results.
http://moz.com/blog/serp-crowding-shrinkage-its-not-your-imagination
http://searchengineland.com/7-new-10-google-showing-fewer-results-131006
DMCA Penalty - 8/10/12
Google announces start of campaign to penalize domains with multiple, valid copyright removal notices, saying that they will be using data on copyright violations as a signal in their search rankings.
http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/08/an-update-to-our-search-algorithms.html
http://searchengineland.com/dmca-requests-now-used-in-googles-ranking-algorithm-130118
86 Changes for June and July - announced 8/10/2012
Lengthy list of 86 changes in Google search quality highlights including Panda refreshers, better rank-ordering functions, trusted sources rank boosting and changes to site clustering.
http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/08/search-quality-highlights-86-changes.html
http://searchengineland.com/googles-june-july-updates-130392
Panda Update #17 - 7/24/12
Another in series of refreshers to the Google Panda update with less than 0.1% of queries impacted.
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-panda-39-official-15480.html
Link Warnings - 7/19/2012
Somewhat ambiguous update from Google following earlier warnings re: unnatural links, sent via message to webmasters in their webmaster tools. Google's cryptic update says these new warnings may not be a problem and that a penalty may not follow the unnatural link warning.
http://searchengineland.com/insanity-google-sends-new-link-warnings-then-says-you-can-ignore-them-128297
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-links-warnings-15461.html
Panda Update #15 - 6/8/2012
Google confirms refresh of their algorithm but does not confirm that it was a Panda update. Industry tracking data links update to Panda, with approximately 1% of searches impacted.
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-panda-3-7-15281.html
http://moz.com/blog/the-bigfoot-update-aka-dr-pete-goes-crazy
39 Changes for May - announced 6/7/2012
Another in series of monthly search quality highlights with 39 changes listed; the most prominent being the Knowledge Graph (KG), better search for users in China and updated search for iPhone.
http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/06/search-quality-highlights-39-changes.html
http://searchengineland.com/googles-may-updates-inorganic-backlinks-page-titles-fresh-results-more-123951
Penguin Update #2 - 5/25/12
Google confirms first update to their Penguin algorithm, calling it a "data refresh." Minor impact felt across the board with less than one-tenth of one percent of English inquiries affected.
http://searchengineland.com/google-pushes-first-penguin-algorithm-update-122518
Knowledge Graph (KG) - 5.16.2012
Google introduces the Knowledge Graph, enabling users to search for things, people or places that are relevant to the search. Considered a big step toward semantic search, KG is a SERP-integrated display that gives users supplemental information, or knowledge panels.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/introducing-knowledge-graph-things-not.html
http://searchengineland.com/google-launches-knowledge-graph-121585
52 Changes for April - announced 5/4/2012
This is the April installment of Google's monthly search quality changes (though these aren't always released monthly and not necessarily on a regular schedule). Some items of note are latest Google algorithm improvement to find more high quality sites, changes to indexing, spelling, sitelinks and sports scores features.
http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/05/search-quality-highlights-53-changes.html
http://searchengineland.com/googles-april-search-updates-120370
Panda Update #14 - 4/27/2012
Google confirms yet another refresher of their Panda algorithm but impact is limited with few sites impacted.
http://searchengineland.com/panda-update-3-6-on-april-27th-120227
Penguin Update - 4/24/2012
Google rolls out major update to combat "webspam," eventually to be named the Penguin algorithm update. This update fine tunes many spam issues impacting more than 3.1% of English searches and sites found to be using keyword stuffing, cloaking and a multitude of other techniques that violate Google quality guidelines.
http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/04/another-step-to-reward-high-quality.html
http://searchengineland.com/the-penguin-update-googles-webspam-algorithm-gets-official-name-119623
http://searchengineland.com/penguin-update-recovery-tips-advice-119650
http://searchengineland.com/google-talks-penguin-update-recover-negative-seo-120463
Panda Update #13 - 4/19/2012
Another refresher of the Panda algorithm is released with limited impact.
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-panda-35-15065.html
Google Glitch - Parked Domain Bug - 4/16/2012
A Google error results in devaluing many domains mistakenly taken to be parked domains (websites with little if any content other than ads). Matt Cutts confirms that error was fixed.
http://searchengineland.com/dropped-in-rankings-google-mistake-over-parked-domains-118979
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-update-april-2012-15023.html
50 Changes for March - announced 4/3/2012
New list of Google's monthly search quality highlights with acknowledgement of Panda 3.4, update of anchor-text scoring, image search and better indexing of profile pages.
http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/04/search-quality-highlights-50-changes.html
http://searchengineland.com/googles-march-updates-anchor-text-image-search-navigational-search-more-117285
Panda Update #12 - 3/23/2012
Google uses Twitter to announce this update to the Panda algorithm. Message includes statement saying that 1.6% of queries are affected by this Panda refresh.
http://searchengineland.com/google-says-panda-update-is-rolling-out-now-116444
Search Quality Meeting Video - 3/12/2012
Google releases video that covers one of their search quality meetings to give viewers an inside look into how search works at Google. The meeting covers their discussion of the Google spell correction system.
http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/03/video-search-quality-meeting-uncut.html
Panda Update #11 - 2/27/2012
According to Google, this update of Panda "simply refreshes data in the system making it more accurate and more sensitive to recent changes on the web."
http://searchengineland.com/google-confirms-panda-update-link-evaluation-local-search-rankings-113078
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-panda-33-14803.html
40 Changes for February - announced 2/27/2012
This is a second set of changes in February, with 40 noted in their list of search quality highlights with more coverage for related searches, tweak to categorizer for expanded sitelinks and less duplication in expanded sitelinks topping the list.
http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/02/search-quality-highlights-40-changes.html
Venice Update - 2/27, 2012
Noted in list of monthly changes for Feb, this update improves the triggering of local universal, organic results by relying more on the ranking of Google's main search results as a signal.
http://moz.com/blog/understand-and-rock-the-google-venice-update
http://marketing-blog.catalystemarketing.com/google-venice-update-local-seo.html
17 Changes for February - announced 2/3/2012
Search quality highlights for February include faster auto-complete, better spelling full page replacement and cross-language refinements.
http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/02/17-search-quality-highlights-january.html
http://searchengineland.com/googles-january-search-update-110121
Page Layout Improvement - 1/19/2012
Algorithmic change in Google search engine that takes into account the layout of a webpage and the amount of content on the page when a user clicks on the search results; too many ads above the fold.
http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/01/page-layout-algorithm-improvement.html
http://searchengineland.com/too-many-ads-above-the-fold-now-penalized-by-googles-page-layout-algo-108613
Search Plus Your World Update - 1/10/2012
Google announces change of search engine to include personal results, profiles in search and people and pages making Google + social data and user profiles more important part of SERP.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/search-plus-your-world.html
http://searchengineland.com/examples-google-search-plus-drive-facebook-twitter-crazy-107554
30 Changes for December 2011 - announced 1/5/2012
Google lists 30 search quality changes using a sampling of code names, which Google feels makes changes easier to talk about and remember. Highlights of changes include better spam detection in image search, more accurate byline dates and more relevant site links.
http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/01/30-search-quality-highlights-with.html
http://searchengineland.com/google-announces-megasitelinks-image-search-improvements-better-byline-dates-106798
2011 Google Algorithm Updates:
10 Changes for December - announced 12/1/2011
Google announces another set of search quality changes while also noting that these changes can be expected monthly. This edition of their Inside Search blog highlights more comprehensive indexing, new parked domain classifier, and image result freshness.
http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2011/12/search-quality-highlights-new-monthly.html
http://searchengineland.com/google-parked-domains-scraper-sites-targeted-amongsearch-changes-103302
Panda Update #9 - 11/18/2011
Minor Panda update affecting less than 1% of all searches.
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-panda-31-14348.html
10 Changes for November - announced 11/14/11
Biggest news here is an apparent shift in how Google communicates changes in the search algorithm. In a move to be more transparent Matt Cutts includes a few relatively minor changes in Google search blog.
http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2011/11/ten-recent-algorithm-changes.html
http://searchengineland.com/improved-snippets-rank-boost-for-official-pages-among-10-new-google-algorithm-changes-100969
Fresh Content Update - 11/3/2011
In an effort to ensure that the most recent, or freshest content, gets priority for time-sensitive results Google announces this major algorithm change. Up to 35% of all searches affected by the freshness update.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/giving-you-fresher-more-recent-search.html
http://searchengineland.com/google-search-algorithm-change-for-freshness-to-impact-35-of-searches-99856
Panda Update #7 - 9/28/2011
Google confirms latest update to the Panda algorithm, officially being Panda 2.5. Many webmasters report major losses from this Panda update.
http://searchengineland.com/confirmed-google-panda-2-4-update-arrived-this-week-95222
http://searchengineland.com/google-panda-losers-today-show-winners-youtube-95257
Google Revelations - 9/21/2011
Eric Schmidt, executive chairman at Google testifies before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary saying that among other things, Google made 516 updates to the search engine in 2010 while also testing over 13,000 updates.
http://searchengineland.com/figz/wp-content/seloads/2011/09/Eric-Schmidt-Testimony.pdf
Expanded and Improved Site Links - 8/16/11
Google announces several improvements to their sitelinks, including how they appear and how they are organized in search results.
http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2011/08/evolution-of-sitelinks-expanded-and.html
http://searchengineland.com/official-google-sitelinks-expands-to-12-pack-89555
Panda Update #6 - 8/12/2011
Google blog announces that this Panda update is a rollout of algorithm search improvement in several different languages, which is aimed at improving overall search quality. This Panda update expected to impact 6-9% of queries.
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2011/08/high-quality-sites-algorithm-launched.html
http://searchengineland.com/googles-panda-update-launches-internationally-in-most-languages-89214
Google+ Introduced - 6/28/2011
Google introduces their Google+ project, aiming to bring what they call "real life sharing" to their algorithm; content sharing among individual's circles.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/introducing-google-project-real-life.html
http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/14/larry-page-on-google-over-10-million-users-1-billion-items-shared/
Schema.org - 6/2/2011
Google, Microsoft and Yahoo announce that they have joined forces in schema.org, an common foundation of support for microdata, which is a type of structured mark up that provides semantic meaning to content on the Internet.
http://searchengineland.com/schema-org-google-bing-yahoo-unite-79554
Panda Update #3 - 5/9/2011
Rumored to be Panda 3.0 but never officially declared as such by Google. Appears to be another minor update.
http://searchengineland.com/its-panda-update-2-not-3-google-says-76508
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-panda-3-13379.html
Panda Update #2 - 4/11/2011
Google announces that their algorithm update introduced last month aimed at helping users find more high quality sites is being rolled out globally to all English language users. This update also includes new signals especially data about site users blocked by the SERP's or Chrome.
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2011/04/high-quality-sites-algorithm-goes.html
http://searchengineland.com/google-rolls-out-its-panda-update-internationally-and-begins-incorporating-searcher-blocking-data-72497
Google +1 Button - 3/30/2011
Google announces introduction of their +1 button, which allows users to rate search results within their social circles for both organic and paid results.
Recommendations when you want them
http://searchengineland.com/meet-1-googles-answer-to-the-facebook-like-button-70569
Panda Update - 2/23/2011
Google launches major algorithm update that impacts more than 12% of search results. Called "Panda" after Google engineer working on the algo, this update targets content farms, thin spammy content and other content quality issues.
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/03/the-panda-that-hates-farms/
http://moz.com/blog/googles-farmer-update-analysis-of-winners-vs-losers
Attribution Update - 1/28/2011
Google takes additional steps regarding content attribution and to put the brakes on content scraping. Matt Cutts notes that this update will impact 2% of queries and is probably a response from Google to some of the high-profile spam episodes.
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/algorithm-change-launched/
http://searchnewscentral.com/20110131124/Latest/latest-google-algorithm-change.html
The Overstock.com Case - 1/2011
Google takes decisive action in penalizing Overstock.com for their poor SEO practices and makes their decision public, putting other high profile companies on notice regarding their SEO.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704520504576162753779521700.html
http://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4252178.htm
2010 Google Algorithm Updates:
Social Signals Update - 12/2010
Search engines Bing and Google acknowledge that they are using social signals in their search algorithms, which Matt Cutts confirms is a relatively new practice for Google.
http://searchengineland.com/what-social-signals-do-google-bing-really-count-55389
http://searchengineland.com/google-webmaster-video-reconfirms-use-of-social-signals-59320
Negative News/Reviews Update - 12/2010
In response to a high-profile story in the NY Times highlighting the fact that some ecommerce sites were achieving high SERP's based on negative reviews, Google adjusts its algorithm to guard against anyone using this tactic to gain higher rankings.
A Bully Finds a Pulpit on the Web
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/being-bad-to-your-customers-is-bad-for.html
Instant Preview Update - 11/2010
Google adds a magnifying glass icon, allowing users to preview landing pages directly from search results. The move reinforces Google's emphasis on landing page quality and design.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/beyond-instant-results-instant-previews.html
Google Instant - 9/2010
Google introduces search enhancement that shows users results as they type their query into the Google search bar.
http://www.google.com/instant/
http://moz.com/blog/google-instant-fewer-changes-to-seo-than-the-average-algo-update
The Brand Update - 8/2010
Google appears to allow the same domain (brand) to appear multiple times on a SERP, from a well-known brand, and thus dominating the first page of some search results. This is a departure from previous policy where domains were limited to 1-2 listings.
http://searchengineland.com/google-search-results-dominated-by-one-domain-49025
Caffeine Update - 6/8/2010
Google announces launch of new web indexing system called "Caffeine," which increases Google's speed and returns "fresher" content to the user.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/our-new-search-index-caffeine.html
http://searchengineland.com/googles-new-indexing-infrastructure-caffeine-now-live-43891
Mayday Update - 5/2010
Matt Cutts confirms this update to the algorithm, aimed at finding higher quality websites for long tailed searches.
http://searchengineland.com/google-confirms-mayday-update-impacts-long-tail-traffic-43054
http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/022293.html
Google Places - 4/2010
Google announces that their Local Business Center is now Google Places, which they feel will better connect their Place Pages, which was launched last September.
http://searchengineland.com/google-local-business-center-becomes-google-places-40307
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/introducing-google-places.html
2009 Google Algorithm Updates:
Real Time Search Results Update - 12/2009
Google announces launch of real time search results, creating a real time feed from newly indexed content on search results.
http://searchengineland.com/google-launches-real-time-search-31355
Caffeine Update Preview - 8/2009
Google provides a sneak-peak to upcoming Caffeine update, designed to speed up searches and to provide users with the most up-to-date content.
http://mashable.com/2009/08/10/google-caffeine/
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2009/08/help-test-some-next-generation.html
Canonical Link Element - 2/2009
Joint support by Google, Microsoft and Yahoo for the "canonical tag" which cuts down on unnecessary duplicate content results by letting webmasters send these canonical tags through the search engines, telling the them that multiple pages should be considered as one without redirecting users to the new URL.
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/canonical-link-tag/
http://moz.com/blog/canonical-url-tag-the-most-important-advancement-in-seo-practices-since-sitemaps
Vince - 2/2009
Google update that on the surface seemed to give big brands a push in search results, later clarified in a Matt Cutts video in which he claims the Vince update is more about factoring "trust" into the search algorithm for more generic queries.
http://www.seobook.com/google-branding
http://searchengineland.com/google-searchs-vince-change-google-says-not-brand-push-16803
2008 Google Algorithm Updates:
Google Suggest Update - 8/2008
Google introduces Suggest, which displays suggested search terms in a drop down below their search box when users type their queries.
http://searchengineland.com/googlecom-finally-gets-google-suggest-feature-14626
Dewey - April 2008
A large scale update in late March and early April, though the exact nature is the subject of much speculation. Google's Matt Cutts adds post to thread about Dewey on industry publication asking for feedback on the Dewey update.
http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/016754.html
2007 Google Algorithm Updates:
Buffy Update - 6/2007
Somewhat suspect update that Matt Cutts eventually suggests is merely an accumulation of smaller changes in the search algorithm.
http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/013882.html
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/smx-seattle-wrap-up/
Universal Search Update - 5/2007
Google integrates its normal search results blending in news, videos, images, local and book search engines among the ones it grabs from crawling web pages. One of most radical changes to Google search results to date.
http://searchengineland.com/google-20-google-universal-search-11232
2006 Google Algorithm Updates:
Supplemental Index Update - 11/2006
On-going changes throughout 2006 to the supplemental index and how these pages are considered and displayed in the search results. Google claims that supplemental tag is not a penalty.
http://moz.com/google-algorithm-change
2005 Google Algorithm Updates:
Big Daddy Update - 12/2005
Google confirms that Big Daddy is a software upgrade of their crawling and other technical aspects of the algorithm.
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/indexing-timeline/
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/todd-greg-matt-cutts-on-webmasterradio
Jagger Update - 10/2005
Series of algorithm updates from Google aimed at low-quality links, link farms and other linking schemes. The Jagger update seems to have taken place from Sept thru November 2005.
http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/002711.html
http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum30/32004.htm
Local/ Maps Update - 10/2005
Google merges its maps data and information into their Local Business Center.
http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/local_merge.html
Gilligan Update - 9/2005
Not really an update but webmasters claim otherwise at the time. Matt Cutts responds with blog post explaining that Google tweaks the index data daily but most other major metrics once every 3 months.
http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2061165/Googles-Cutts-Says-Not-An-Update-I-Say-An-Update-Just-Not-A-Dance
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/whats-an-update/
XML Sitemaps - 6/2005
Google allows submission of XML sitemaps via Webmaster Tools, thereby skipping over traditional HTML sitemaps.
http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2061916/New-Google-Sitemaps-Web-Page-Feed-Program
Bourbon Update - 5/2005
Despite not being entirely clear just what the Bourbon update was, industry experts believe that this update changes how duplicate content and non-canonical URLs are treated in search results.
http://battellemedia.com/archives/2005/06/google_update_bourbon
http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/002130.html
Allegra Update - 2/2005
SEO's and webmaster notice changes in the rankings, leading to speculation that Google had updated the algorithm. Most talk centers on Google becoming more aggressive about poor quality links.
http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2047678/Googles-Feb.-2005-Update
NoFollow Update - 1/2005
Google, Yahoo and Microsoft introduce the "nofollow" link/attribute to help control spammy links and bogus blog comments.
http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2062985/Google-Yahoo-MSN-Unite-On-Support-For-Nofollow-Attribute-For-Links
2004 Google Algorithm Updates:
Brandy Update - 2/2004
A number of changes to the Google search algorithm are made leading to extensive index expansion, latent semantic indexing, a more attention given to the relevance of anchor text and link neighbors.
http://www.webpronews.com/googles-brandy-update-exposed-2004-02
http://blogs.sitepoint.com/brandy-google-update/
2003 Google Algorithm Updates:
Florida Update - 11/2003
Big update to Google search algorithm putting SEO industry on notice that site using optimization practices that violate Google quality guidelines run the risk of being penalized.
http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2066309/What-Happened-To-My-Site-On-Google
Supplemental Index Update - 9/2003
Google splits some of its search results into a supplemental index so as to index more results without taking away from the performance of the search engine.
http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2067049/Search-Engine-Size-Wars-Googles-Supplemental-Results
Fritz Update - 7/2003
Google changes its approach in making small updates to the algorithm. Instead of monthly "dances" Matt Cutts explains that they will switch to an index that is updated daily.
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/explaining-algorithm-updates-and-data-refreshes/
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/02/ff_google_algorithm/all/1
Esmeralda - 6/2003
Esmeralda is the last monthly "dance" from Google and is said to involve some major changes to the algorithm. The changes will take place over several weeks.
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/6/23/201523/090
Dominic - 5/2003
Industry watchdogs notice a lot of changes during May 2003, but the exact type of changes to the algorithm weren't clear. Talk is that the way Google looks at backlinks changed considerably.
Understanding Dominic - Part 2
Cassandra - 4/2003
Google algo update targeting backlinks, particularly poor quality backlinks and cloaking techniques used to hide links and text.
http://econsultancy.com/us/forums/other-topics/google-update-cassandra-is-here
Boston - 2/2003
This turns out to be the first named algorithm update, which was announced at the Search Engine Strategies training in Boston.
2002 Google Algorithm Updates:
Fall Update - 9/2002
Major changes in the Google algorithm take place lat in 2002, with most analysts in agreement that this was much more than a monthly dance or PR update.
http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/5688.htm
http://level343.com/article_archive/2011/03/14/dancing-the-google-dance-one-algo-change-two-algo-change-go/
2000 Google Algorithm Updates:
Google Toolbar - 12/2000
Google announces the launch of the Google Toolbar, which is available free. The Google Toolbar provides fast access to Google search tools from any web page on the Internet; and with it Toolbar PageRank.
http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/pressrelease42.html