First Google Algorithm Updates

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....

List of Major Google Algorithms, Launch Date and Functions:

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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....

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....

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....

Major Google Algorithms- FAQ’s

Q1- What is the major Google algorithm update 2023?...