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Major Google Algorithms

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In the below article, we have compiled a full list of Google Algorithms, Launch Dates, and Functions that Google has rolled out over the years. If you are looking for a detailed article on Google Algorithms, then keep reading it.

Google Algorithms are used to give the best possible outcome or result whenever someone searches for something on Google. Not only one but it uses several algorithms to perform this task and it also checks for the rank of the web pages which is delivered after the task. Google is making a vast change in its algorithm at a very frequent period. 

What are Google Algorithms?

The Google algorithms are a set of complex mathematical functions that let Google Search find and rank the relevant results on SERP for a given query. Google search engine use a lot of algorithms and ranking factors to display webpages on SERP.

In the early years, Google didn’t give more algorithm updates, but now Google constantly keeps on improving these algorithms to help users get the best results.

Some of the google algorithm updates are so minor that they mostly go unnoticed, but some algorithms drastically change the SERP, like:

  1. RankBrain
  2. Hummingbird
  3. Panda
  4. Penguin
  5. BERT
  6. Payday Loan Algorithm
  7. Mobile Update
  8. Update Fred Pigeon
  9. Page Layout Algorithm
  10. Exact Match Domain

List of Major Google Algorithms, Launch Date and Functions:

Algorithm Launch Date Function
Florida September 18, 2003 Targeted pages with thin content quantity and low quality.
Big Daddy September 27, 2005 It focused on links targeting to a website and quality of that links
Jagger December 18, 2006 Targeted keyword stuffing and link spamming techniques.
Vince February 28, 2009 Targeted websites with doorway pages and low content quality.
Caffeine June 18, 2010 Improved crawling and page indexing.
Panda February 24, 2011 Addressed low-quality content and thin content.
Freshness Algorithm November 3, 2011 Worked on freshness of content in SERP.
Page Layout Algorithm January 19, 2012 Targeted websites showing excessive ads.
Venice Update May 10, 2012 Addressed keyword targeting in anchor text.
Penguin April 24, 2012 Targeted websites that had irrelevant or spammy links.
EMD (Exact Match Domain) September 26, 2012 Addressed websites with exact match domain names and low-quality content.
Payday August 8, 2013 Targeted websites related to payday loans and other questionable industries.
Hummingbird August 22, 2013 Worked on understanding natural language processing to meet user search intent.
Pigeon July 22, 2014 Improved local search results for businesses located within a specific geographic area.
Mobilegeddon April 21, 2015 Prioritized websites with mobile friendly interface.
RankBrain 2015 It is a machine learning algorithm that understands the reason behind search to provide best results.
Fred March 18, 2017

It targeted websites with spammy back link building practice.

Mobile-First Index March 26, 2018 Prioritized mobile-friendly websites in search results for mobile devices.
BERT 2018 It is a machine learning algorithm that helps google understand natural language queries.
MUM 2022 A machine learning algorithm that helps Google understand the meaning of complex search queries.
Bard 2023 A machine learning model that assists Google in producing text, translating languages, producing various forms of creative content, and providing you with informative answers to your queries.

Major Google Algorithms Updates:

The focus of these major google updates was to improve the quality of sites and content that is going to show up on Google. 

1. Panda Update

It is one of Google’s official algorithm update. This update was done to reduce the low-quality data because in 2009 after the caffeine update the low-quality data also became part of the search results. To reduce that google make a new update and named its Panda. In panda, the pages were given a quality parameter based on the rating given by humans to the pages. So panda eliminates the low-quality content and promotes high quality and user-friendly pages. 

2. Payday Loan Algorithm

This algorithm was released in 2013, cause at that time the spam in Google was increasing. So to reduce Spam websites from Google search results this algorithm was introduced. This was one of the important updates by Google, which targeted Spam queries which were related to super high-interest loans and other heavily spammed queries. 

3. Penguin Update

It was launched in 2012, the same as panda this algorithm also used to promote high-quality data in search results and also to not show the spammy content or low-quality data. This algorithm is an extension of the panda which works on reducing the effectiveness of black hat techniques, that were used to promote the low-quality pages in the search results of Google. The main task of the penguin algorithm was to show the relevant, real, and genuine result websites, and the spam my websites were downgraded. 

4. Hummingbird Update

This update was launched on 22 August 2013, its main work is to show the query that query on the internet which may not have the same word. It mainly focuses on the intention of the searcher. So hummingbird algorithm is important because sometimes grammatical mistakes occur during typing and results did not show up so this was corrected by using this algorithm. 

5. Mobile Update

As the name suggests this algorithm is for mobile search, its task is to show the Mobile-friendly pages on the top when searched from a mobile. This was launched on 21 st April 2015. The top results will be mobile optimized, and those who are not optimized will be downgraded. 

6. Rank Brain

It is a machine learning algorithm. It is kind of similar to a hummingbird, its a machine learning from which Google understand and shows the best result. It is one of the important algorithms of Google and was launched on 26 October 2015. 

7. Possum Update

This algorithm is mainly based on the location, it will show the local result according to the location. The nearer you are to the business address, the more chances that you will see it in your search result, and the result may vary on different locations for local addresses. This was launched on 1 September 2016. 

8. Fred

One of the latest updates in Google and was launched on 8 March 2017. Its main focus is to target websites that have less content and more ads or you can say the websites having focus is on generating revenue with low-class content. Small websites and blogs are focused on this update. 

9. Pigeon

This update was launched by Google on 24th July 2014 in the US and 22 DEC 2014 in UK, Canada, Australia. This update mainly links with those searches on Google in which the location of the user is mainly focused. SEO is used to show local results in an area. So to rank after the pigeon update focus time and efforts on the on-page and off-page SEO. 

10. Page Layout Algorithm 

This update was introduced by Google on 19 January 2012. After the release, this algorithm was updated on 9 October 2012 and the last update till now was on 1 November 2016. This algorithm is linked with the user experience. This algorithm affects those sites which have so many extra ads. So here in this algorithm, those sites in which ads force the user to see content, and approximately 1% of sites were affected.

11. Exact Match Domain 

This algorithm was introduced in 2012. As the name suggests it works on the exact name and targets exactly what the name suggests. This update was to focus on the exact match of domain despite thin content and the quality of the site. The major weakness of EDM was that the websites SEOs would buy domains with exact match keyword phrases, build a site out, but have extremely thin content with little to no value on them. And it was so easy to do. The result of this update occurred in a way that, non-dot-com domains experienced a more severe punishment than .com counterparts. 

Major Google Algorithm Updates 2023

Month Update Date Completed Key Changes
November Core Algorithm Update Still rolling out Primary goal to better user experience and focusing on E-E-A-T signals.
October Core Algorithm Update October 19, 2023 Focus on improving content quality and relevance.
September Helpful Content Update September 27, 2023 Focus on identifying and rewarding websites that were creating helpful and high-quality content.
August Core Algorithm Update September 7, 2023 Focused on improving the relevance and quality of the web pages shown for search queries.
April Reviews Update April 26, 2023 Focus on improving the quality and relevance of reviews in search results.
March Core Algorithm Update March 28, 2023 Focused on improving the relevance and quality of the web pages shown for search queries.
February Product Reviews Update March 7, 2023 Focus on improving the quality and relevance of product reviews in search results.
January Core Algorithm Update February 1, 2023 Focused on improving the relevance and quality of the web pages shown for search queries.

Major Google Algorithm Updates 2022

Month Update Date Completed Key Changes
December Link Spam Update January 2, 2023 This update targeted websites that were using spammy or deceptive link-building techniques to improve their rankings.
December Helpful Content Update January 4, 2023 This update rewarded websites that were creating helpful and high-quality content.
October Spam Update October 25, 2022 This update targeted websites that were using spammy or deceptive tactics to improve their rankings.
September Product Reviews Update October 4, 2022 This update focused on improving the quality and relevance of product reviews in search results.
September Core Algorithm Update September 26, 2022 This update was a major update that affected a wide range of websites. Google did not release much information about the specific changes that were made, but it is expected to have had a significant impact on search results.
August Helpful Content Update September 8, 2022 This update was a continuation of the Helpful Content Update that was rolled out in December 2022. This update further rewarded websites that were creating helpful and high-quality content.
July Product Reviews Update August 10, 2022 This update focused on improving the quality and relevance of product reviews in search results.
May Core Algorithm Update June 9, 2022 This update was a major update that affected a wide range of websites. Google did not release much information about the specific changes that were made, but it is expected to have had a significant impact on search results.
March Product Reviews Update April 6, 2022 This update focused on improving the quality and relevance of product reviews in search results.

Major Google Algorithm Updates 2021

Month Update Date Completed Key Changes
December Product Reviews Update December 20, 2021 Focused on improving the quality and relevance of product reviews in search results.
November Core Algorithm Update November 29, 2021 Focused on improving the relevance and quality of the web pages shown for search queries.
November Spam Update November 15, 2021 Targeted websites that were using spammy or deceptive tactics to improve their rankings.
July Link Spam Update August 9, 2021 Targeted websites that were using spammy or deceptive link-building techniques to improve their rankings.
July Core Algorithm Update July 13, 2021 Focused on improving the relevance and quality of the web pages shown for search queries.
June Spam Update July 12, 2021 Targeted websites that were using spammy or deceptive tactics to improve their rankings.
June Spam Update July 7, 2021 Targeted websites that were using spammy or deceptive tactics to improve their rankings.
June Page Experience Update August 23, 2021 Focused on improving the overall user experience of websites in search results, including factors such as mobile-friendliness, loading speed, and intrusiveness of ads.
June Core Algorithm Update June 16, 2021 Focused on improving the relevance and quality of the web pages shown for search queries.
February Passage Ranking Still rolling out Focused on evaluating the relevance of individual passages of text within a web page, rather than just the entire page.
March Recovery March 29, 2021 Focused on helping websites that had been negatively impacted by previous algorithm updates to recover their rankings.
April Product Reviews Update April 26, 2021 Focused on improving the quality and relevance of product reviews in search results.

Major Google Algorithm Updates 2020

Month Update Date Completed Key Changes
December Broad Core Update December 16, 2020 This core update was focused on improving the relevance and quality of the web pages shown in search results. Google did not release much information about the specific changes that were made, but it is expected to have had a significant impact on search results.
December Passage Ranking January 19, 2021 This update focused on evaluating the relevance of individual passages of text within a web page, rather than just the entire page.
May Broad Core Update May 18, 2020 This core update was focused on improving the relevance and quality of the web pages shown in search results. Google did not release much information about the specific changes that were made, but it is expected to have had a significant impact on search results.
January Featured Snippet Update June 22, 2020 This update focused on websites with a featured snippet position. The update will no longer repeat the webpage in Page 1 organic listings if in this position.
January Broad Core Update January 16, 2020 This core update was focused on improving the relevance and quality of the web pages shown in search results. Google did not release much information about the specific changes that were made, but it is expected to have had a significant impact on search results.

Major Google Algorithm Updates 2019

Month Name Date Completed Key Changes
September September 2019 Core Update October 10, 2019 Focused on improving the relevance and quality of search results.
June June 2019 Core Update June 16, 2019 Focused on improving the relevance and quality of search results.
June Diversity Update June 5, 2019 Aimed to reduce the visibility of duplicate or low-quality content in search results.
March March 2019 Core Update March 29, 2019 Focused on improving the relevance and quality of search results.
October BERT Update October 25, 2019 Introduced a new algorithm called BERT, which stands for Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers. BERT is designed to better understand the meaning of natural language queries, which can improve the relevance of search results.

Major Google Algorithm Updates 2018

Month Name Date Completed Key Changes
October Medic Update #2 October 20, 2018 Focused on websites in YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) categories, such as health and finance.
September Small Google Core Update October 12, 2018 A minor core update that focused on improving the relevance and quality of search results.
August Medic Update August 24, 2018 Focused on websites in YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) categories, such as health and finance.
March Google Core Update March 2018 March 28, 2018 A broad core update that focused on improving the relevance and quality of search results.
January Google DMCA Penalty February 8, 2018 Targeted websites that were found to be violating Google’s DMCA policy.
December Google Hummingbird Update December 26, 2018 An update to the Hummingbird algorithm that focused on improving the ranking of websites that were mobile-friendly.
November Google Mobile-First Index November 20, 2018 An update to the way that Google indexes websites, which now gives priority to mobile-friendly websites.
October Google May Day Update October 18, 2018 Targeted websites that were using spammy or deceptive link-building techniques.
September Google Caffeine Update October 10, 2018 An update to the Caffeine algorithm that focused on improving the speed and accuracy of Google’s search results.
August Google Exact-Match Domain (EMD) Update September 6, 2018 Targeted websites that were using exact-match domain names in an attempt to rank higher in search results.
July Google Payday Loan Update July 24, 2018 Targeted websites that were related to payday loans and other questionable industries.

First Google Algorithm Updates

Month Name Completed Key Changes
March Florida March 11, 2003 Improved accuracy of search results, reducing impact of spammy websites.
September Big Daddy September 27, 2003 Increased algorithm sensitivity to content quality and backlink relevance.
December Jagger December 18, 2003 Enhanced algorithm’s ability to detect and penalize spammy websites.
February Vince February 12, 2004 Increased algorithm sensitivity to link quality and content relevance.
February Freshness February 21, 2004 Improved algorithm’s ability to identify and rank recently updated content.
March Page Layout Algorithm March 1, 2004 Enhanced algorithm’s ability to understand web page layout and identify key content.
May Supplemental Results May 18, 2004 Allowed additional results from non-top-rated websites for specific search queries.
May Boston May 26, 2004 Increased algorithm sensitivity to link quality and content relevance.
July Thematic Ranking July 12, 2004 Enhanced algorithm’s ability to understand thematic relevance of web pages.
October Domain Diversity October 11, 2004 Reduced impact of multiple websites from the same domain ranking for the same search query.
November Supplemental Results II November 18, 2004 Allowed additional results from non-top-rated websites for specific search queries, deemed useful despite not being the most relevant.
November Google Sandbox November 22, 2004 Filter preventing new websites from ranking too high until established.
December Hidefiniteness December 30, 2004 Enhanced algorithm’s ability to understand the meaning of natural language queries.

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Conclusion

Google is always adding new algorithm updates to keep SERPs clear and easy to use in an effort to give users the best search results possible.

The ranks of webpages in search engine results pages are largely determined by the Google Search Algorithm or Google Algorithms. For SEO experts, it is extremely important because some of the new algorithms may significantly alter the ranking factors.

Taking a close look at these Google algorithm changes and making the necessary adjustments to your webpage could help you increase your visibility on Google’s search engine results page.

Major Google Algorithms- FAQ’s

Q1- What is the major Google algorithm update 2023?

Google released the Helpful content Update on September 14,2023. This algorithm focuses on improving classifier to find helpful content.

Q2- How many algorithms does Google have?

Google does not publically disclose all of it’s algorithm updates, but they are estimated to be in tens of thousands. Some of the major google algorithms are :

  1. PageRank
  2. Hummingbird
  3. RankBrain
  4. BERT
  5. MUM
  6. TPU
  7. SPARK
  8. BigQuery
  9. TensorFlow
  10. Chrome Rendering Engine

Q3- How complicated is Google’s algorithm?

Google algorithms are complex mathematical functions that are ever evolving, and with introduction to AI and ML it can be said that they are evolving at much higher speed than a human can comprehend.

Q4- Is Google’s algorithm AI?

Google have showed their interest in AI and ML. They are incorporating AI and ML into their search algorithms, major google algorithms like PageRank, RankBrain, TF-IDF and many more uses AI and ML.



Last Updated : 30 Nov, 2023
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