Google Updates
This page lists Google’s algorithm updates from 1998 to 2026. It includes major and minor changes, both confirmed and unconfirmed, as well as micro updates. You’ll find information on core updates, spam, mobile changes, new features, ranking signals, volatility, and experiments.
| Date | Update Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation & Early Algorithmic Changes (1998-2003) | |||
| September 1998 | Google Launch & PageRank | Core/Ranking | Launches with PageRank, evaluating web pages based on quantity and quality of backlinks. Sets the paradigm for search ranking for decades. |
| 2000 | Google Toolbar | Feature | Introduces public PageRank, giving site owners visibility into ranking importance and sparking early SEO awareness. |
| 2001-2002 | Google Dance | Micro Volatility | Monthly index refreshes cause oscillations and worry, laying groundwork for future continuous updates. |
| September 2002 | First Documented Update | Quality & Spam | Starts to prioritize spam detection and contextual understanding over raw on-page signals. |
| Major Named Updates & Linking Era (2003-2010) | |||
| February 2003 | Boston | Core Regularization | First regular/named update, marks intentional algorithm adjustments. |
| April 2003 | Cassandra | Spam | Targets hidden text, excessive cross-domain links. |
| May 2003 | Dominic | Link Analysis | Enhances backlink counting and link structure analysis. |
| July 2003 | Fritz | Indexing | Switches from monthly reindexing to daily incremental refreshes. |
| November 2003 | Florida | Spam Penalty | Historic update against keyword stuffing, doorway pages, meta manipulation. Fundamentally alters SEO best practices. |
| January 2004 | Austin | Spam | Targets invisible text and meta abuse post-Florida. |
| February 2004 | Brandy | Semantic | Introduces LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) and link “neighborhoods” – early semantic search signals. |
| September 2005 | Jagger | Links | Tackles paid/unethical links, hidden content, and canonicalization issues. |
| December 2005 | Big Daddy | Technical | Improves redirects, canonicalization and site architecture. |
| May 2007 | Universal Search | Feature | Blends images, videos, local & news results into main search, reshaping SERPs forever. |
| February 2009 | Vince (Brand) | Trust Signals | Favours big, trusted brands for competitive keywords. |
| July 2009 | Caffeine Preview | Infrastructure | Major indexing overhaul for faster, larger web crawling. |
| Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird Era (2011-2014) | |||
| June 2010 | Caffeine Launch | Indexing | Expedites crawling and indexing, allowing fresher results. |
| February 2011 | Panda 1.0 | Quality/Content | Targets thin, duplicate, low-quality, and farmed content; major visibility shifts for publishers. |
| March 2011 – 2012 | Panda Updates 2.0+ | Quality/Content | Wave of Panda iterations, eventually merged into core algorithm. |
| November 2011 | Freshness Update | Content Recency | Prioritizes current content for timely queries (news, sports, etc). |
| January 2012 | Page Layout (Top Heavy) | User Experience | Penalizes sites overloaded with ads above-the-fold. |
| February 2012 | Venice | Local Search | Shows local results based on IP/location for general queries. |
| April 2012 | Penguin 1.0 | Link Spam | Targets manipulative links and anchor text stuffing. |
| May-August 2012 | Panda/Penguin Micro Updates | Volatility/Spam | Frequent micro-adjustments and penalty updates. |
| August 2012 | Pirate | Copyright | Downranks sites flagged for repeated DMCA/copyright violation. |
| September 2012 | EMD (Exact Match Domain) | Domain Quality | Reduces rankings for spammy exact-match domains. |
| August 2013 | Hummingbird | Semantic/NLP | Complete rewrite for semantic understanding of natural language, query intent, and concepts. |
| 2013-2014 | Payday Loan Updates | Spam/Niche | Targets spammy queries, especially in finance and high-risk markets. |
| July 2014 | Pigeon | Local Search | Refines local pack using core signals; major impact on local SEO strategies. |
| Mobile, RankBrain, The Era of AI (2015-2018) | |||
| April 2015 | Mobile-Friendly (“Mobilegeddon”) | Mobile Ranking | Mobile-friendly design becomes a ranking factor; mobile UX prioritized. |
| May 2015 | Quality Update (“Phantom 2”) | Quality | Core signals improved to gauge site quality and genuine engagement. |
| October 2015 | RankBrain | AI/Machine Learning | From ambiguous queries to general signals, AI now interprets search intent and refines rankings. |
| January 2016 | Panda Core Integration | Quality (Realtime) | Panda principles now part of continuous ranking, not discrete updates. |
| May 2016 | Mobile-Friendly 2 | Mobile Ranking | Further strengthens mobile UX ranking factors. |
| September 2016 | Penguin 4.0 Real-Time | Spam (Realtime) | Spammy links now algorithmically devalued at page level, not penalized sitewide. |
| September 2016 | Possum | Local Search | Increases diversity and location-based filtering for local results. |
| March 2017 | Fred | Ad/Content Penalty | Targets low-value, ad-heavy, thin content monetized for revenue, not users. |
| Core Updates, E-A-T, BERT, Volatility Expands (2018-2021) | |||
| February 2018+ | Broad Core Updates | Quality/Ranking | Regular broad updates now standard, affecting multiple industries and types of queries. |
| March 2018 | Mobile-First Indexing | Indexing/Mobile | Google begins indexing/ranking sites based on mobile content and signals first. |
| July 2018 | Mobile Speed Update | Speed/Mobile | Mobile page speed becomes a ranking factor (applies to slowest pages). |
| August 2018 | Medic Update | Core/EAT | YMYL sites (health/finance) get hit hardest; expertise, authority, trust emphasized. |
| 2019 | BERT Integration | NLP/AI | Better natural language understanding, especially of context/prepositions. |
| 2020 | Featured Snippet Deduplication | UI/SERP Logic | Featured snippet URLs removed from top results beyond snippet placement. |
| May/Dec 2020 | Broad Core Updates | Quality | Amid pandemic, Google rewards authoritative, trusted, up-to-date content. |
| Product Reviews, Helpful Content, SpamBrain, & AI (2021-2026) | |||
| March 2021 | Product Reviews Update | Content Quality | Aims to reward in-depth, unbiased, authentic product review content. |
| June 2021 | Page Experience Update | UX/Technical | Core Web Vitals (speed, stability, interactivity) join ranking factors – mobile focus. |
| June-July 2021 | Spam Updates | Spam/Quality | New spam detection systems, anti-cloaking, auto-generated/hacked content suppression. |
| July 26, 2021 | Link Spam Update | Spam/Quality | Algorithm update to identify and nullify link spam; impacts sponsored, guest, and affiliate content. Rolled out over two weeks across multiple languages. |
| November 3, 2021 | November 2021 Spam Update | Spam/Quality | Spam update rolled out Nov 3–11 as part of regular work to improve results quality. |
| November 17, 2021 | November 2021 Core Update | Core/Quality | Broad core algorithm update affecting multiple verticals; completed late November. |
| November 30, 2021 | November 2021 Local Search Update | Local Search | Local search ranking update rolled out Nov 30 – Dec 8, affecting local pack results and proximity signals. |
| December 1, 2021 | December 2021 Product Review Update | Content Quality | Product review update for English-language pages, estimated three-week rollout. |
| February 22, 2022 | Page Experience Update (Desktop) | UX/Technical | Page experience signals including Core Web Vitals extended to desktop search; completed March 2022. |
| March 23, 2022 | March 2022 Product Reviews Update | Content Quality | Third product review algorithm update enabling better identification of high-quality, in-depth reviews. |
| May 22, 2022 | May 2022 Core Update | Core/Quality | Broad core update rolled out May 22 – June 9, affecting rankings across industries. |
| July 27, 2022 | July 2022 Product Reviews Update | Content Quality | Product review algorithm update completed August 2; continued emphasis on authentic, first-hand review content. |
| August 25, 2022 | Helpful Content Update | Quality | Site-wide signal targets ranking-focused, low-value content; rewards “people-first” writing. |
| September 12, 2022 | September 2022 Core Update | Core/Quality | Core algorithm update rolled out Sep 12–26; broad ranking shifts across verticals. |
| September 20, 2022 | September 2022 Product Reviews Update | Content Quality | Product review update rolled out Sep 20–26; page-level targeting of review content quality. |
| October 19, 2022 | October 2022 Spam Update | Spam/Quality | Spam update completed in just two days (Oct 19–21); AI-based spam filtering improvements. |
| December 5, 2022 | December 2022 Helpful Content Update | Quality | Helpful content system refinement; rolled out Dec 5 – Jan 12, 2023. Updated guidance on content quality signals. |
| December 14, 2022 | December 2022 Link Spam Update | Spam/Quality | Leverages SpamBrain to neutralize unnatural links; rolled out Dec 14 – Jan 12, 2023. |
| February 21, 2023 | February 2023 Product Reviews Update | Content Quality | Product reviews update expanded to 11 languages globally (English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Russian, Dutch, Portuguese, Polish). Completed March 18. |
| March 15, 2023 | March 2023 Core Update | Core/Quality | Core algorithm update rolled out Mar 15–28; broad ranking adjustments. |
| April 12, 2023 | April 2023 Reviews Update | Content Quality | Reviews update with heavy focus on experience signals (E-E-A-T); rolled out Apr 12–25. |
| August 22, 2023 | August 2023 Core Update | Core/Quality | Core algorithm update rolled out Aug 22 – Sep 7. |
| September 14, 2023 | September 2023 Helpful Content Update | Quality | Helpful content system update with algorithm changes; rolled out Sep 14–28. Refined signals for people-first content. |
| October 4, 2023 | October 2023 Spam Update | Spam/Quality | Spam update with improved SpamBrain coverage across many languages; rolled out Oct 4–19. |
| October 5, 2023 | October 2023 Core Update | Core/Quality | Core update rolled out Oct 5–19; caused a Discover traffic bug that Google subsequently fixed. |
| November 2, 2023 | November 2023 Core Update | Core/Quality | Core algorithm update rolled out Nov 2–28. |
| November 8, 2023 | November 2023 Reviews Update | Content Quality | Algorithm update targeting review content on a page-level basis; rolled out Nov 8 – Dec 7. |
| March 5, 2024 | March 2024 Core + Spam Update | Quality/Spam | Major double rollout targeting authenticity and spam at scale, especially AI-generated content. Aimed to reduce “unhelpful” content by 40%. Deindexed hundreds of websites. Core completed Apr 19 (45 days); spam portion finished earlier. |
| May 6, 2024 | Site Reputation Abuse (Manual Actions) | Policy/Spam | Google begins enforcing site reputation abuse (“parasite SEO”) policy with manual actions against third-party content on established domains. Algorithmic enforcement planned for future. |
| May 14, 2024 | AI Overviews | Feature/UI | AI-generated summaries (formerly SGE) released for U.S. queries using Gemini model; later expanded globally. Initial turbulence and visibility shifts for publishers. |
| June 20, 2024 | June 2024 Spam Update | Spam/Quality | Spam update focused on cloaking, doorway domains, expired domain abuse, scaled content manipulation, keyword stuffing, misleading functions, and hidden text. Completed in approximately one week. |
| July 31, 2024 | Explicit Fake Content Update | Content/Safety | Algorithm update targeting non-consensual explicit content, specifically AI-generated deepfake images and videos. |
| August 15, 2024 | August 2024 Core Update | Ranking/Content | Core update supportive of small/independent publishers, with fixes for prior harsh helpful content signals. Google confirmed AI Overviews also affected by core updates. Completed September 3. |
| November 11, 2024 | November 2024 Core Update | Core/Quality | Core update rolled out Nov 11 – Dec 5 (three weeks). Analysis showed publishers falling while Reddit rose in visibility. |
| November 19, 2024 | Site Reputation Abuse (Expanded Enforcement) | Policy/Spam | Updated site reputation abuse policy with penalties hitting major publishers. Algorithmic detection and demotion planned for future rollout. |
| December 12, 2024 | December 2024 Core Update | Core/Quality | Core update rolled out Dec 12–18; quick six-day rollout affecting global results. |
| December 19, 2024 | December 2024 Spam Update | Spam/Quality | Final spam update of 2024; rolled out Dec 19–26. Sharper E-E-A-T guidelines and clearer distinctions for helpful vs. spam content. |
| March 13, 2025 | March 2025 Core Update | Ranking/Quality | Core update prioritizing trust, original research, and genuine user benefit. Rolled out Mar 13–27 (two weeks). |
| June 30, 2025 | June 2025 Core Update | Ranking/Quality | Global improvements to diversity and relevance in search results. Rolled out Jun 30 – Jul 17 (over two weeks). John Mueller noted core updates build on long-term data. |
| August 26, 2025 | August 2025 Spam Update | Spam/Quality | Targeted further suppression of AI-generated, low-value and manipulative content. Rolled out Aug 26 – Sep 21 (26 days). |
| December 11, 2025 | December 2025 Core Update | Core/Quality | Core update affecting search results globally. Rolled out Dec 11–29 (18 days). Analysis showed more brands winning “Best Of” queries. |
| February 5, 2026 | Discover Core Update | Core/Feature | Core update focused specifically on the Discover feed (not general Search). Initially for English-language U.S. users, rolling out over two weeks before expanding to more countries and languages. Google also revised Discover guidelines alongside the update. |
| March 24, 2026 | March 2026 Spam Update | Spam/Quality | Global spam update across all languages. Completed in under 20 hours (Mar 24–25) — the fastest confirmed spam update on record. Standard SpamBrain improvements; no new spam policy categories announced. |
| March 27, 2026 | March 2026 Core Update | Core/Quality | First core update of 2026. Designed to surface more relevant, satisfying content from all types of sites. Emphasizes intent alignment, expertise, and comparative value. Rollout expected up to two weeks. |
| Micro-Updates, Unconfirmed Events, Volatility (Every Year) | |||
| Ongoing | Indexing Bug Fixes | Indexing/Micro | De-indexing error corrections and instant volatility events. |
| Ongoing | Featured Snippet Changes | UI/SERP | Algorithm tweaks for what appears in snippets, deduplication and diversity. |
| Ongoing | Local Algorithm Tweaks | Local/Volatility | Encompasses regular filtering changes, business proximity, address variations, pack adjustments. |
| Ongoing | Niche/Vertical Experiments | Industry-Specific | Temporary boosts/demotions affecting specific sectors (health, news, YMYL, product reviews). |
| Ongoing | International/Language Updates | Country-Specific | Localized ranking signals and regulatory-driven tweaks for non-English regions. |
| Ongoing | UI/Feature Rollouts | SERP/UX | Frequent experiments with search layout, AMP, carousels, mobile designs, instant answers. |
Google Update List In More Detail
- Google Pirate Update Explained And Recovery From DMCA Violations
- Google’s BERT Update Explained and Recovery Strategies
- Google’s Exact Match Domain Update Explained
- Google’s Fred Update Explained and Recovery Methods
- Google’s Hummingbird Update Explained and SEO Strategies
- Google’s Mobile Update Explained and How To Fix Your Website
- Google’s Panda Update Explained and Recovery Strategies
- Google’s Penguin Update Explained and Recovery Strategies
- Google’s Pigeon Update Explained and Local SEO Strategies
- Google’s Possum Update Explained & Local SEO
- Google’s RankBrain Update Explained and Recovery Strategies
- Google’s Top Heavy Update Explained and Recovery Strategies
- Google’s Helpful Content Update Explained
- Google’s AI Overview Update
- Google’s Product Reviews Update
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