The Complete Google SEO Algorithm Update History – 1998 to Today

Google SEO algorithm update history scaled 1

Google Updates

This comprehensive historical record of Google’s algorithm updates (1998 – 2025) traces every major, minor, confirmed, unconfirmed, and micro change. It includes core updates, spam, mobile, feature rollouts, ranking signals, volatility events, and experimental changes. Each entry is organized by date, named where possible, includes scope and a concise description, and collectively provides the SEO industry’s definitive archive for algorithmic evolution.

Google Algorithm Update Timeline
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.
August 2018	Medic Update	Core/EAT	YMYL sites (health/finance) get hit hardest; expertise, authority, trust emphasized.
July 2018	Mobile Speed Update	Speed/Mobile	Mobile page speed becomes a ranking factor (applies to slowest pages).
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 (2022-2025)
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.
August 2021	Link Spam Update	Spam/Quality	Nullifies manipulative/paid links globally.
August 2022	Helpful Content Update	Quality	Site-wide signal targets ranking-focused, low-value content; rewards “people-first” writing.
October-December 2022	Spam & Product Review Updates	Spam/Quality	AI-based spam filtering and expanded depth for product reviews.
2023	Review System Expansions	Content/AI	Iterative refinements, AI & E-E-A-T indexation, authenticity boost for in-depth reviews.
March 2024	Core + Spam Updates	Quality/Spam	Double rollout targeting authenticity and spam at scale, especially AI-generated content.
May 2024	AI Overviews	Feature/UI	AI-generated summaries released for U.S.-based queries; initial turbulence and visibility shifts.
June 2024	Spam Update	Spam/Quality	Focused on cloaking, doorway domains, expired domain abuse, scaled content manipulation, keyword stuffing, misleading functions, and hidden text.
August 2024	Core Update	Ranking/Content	Supportive to small/independent publishers, fixes for prior harsh helpful content signals.
November-December 2024	Core + Spam Updates	Quality/EAT	Sharper E-E-A-T guidelines and clearer distinctions for ranking helpful vs. spam content.
March 2025	Core Update	Ranking/Quality	Update prioritizes trust, original research, and genuine user benefit.
June 2025	Core Update	Ranking/Quality	Global improvements to diversity and relevance in search results.
August 2025	Spam Update	Spam/Quality	Targeted further suppression of AI-generated, low-value and manipulative content.
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.

Summary

This table documents the major eras, update names, categories, and ongoing micro-adjustments that collectively shape the Google Search ecosystem. For SEOs, adapting to both named events and continuous micro-volatility, while prioritizing expertise, authority, trust, technical excellence, and genuine user satisfaction – remains the crucial strategy as Google relentlessly pushes the boundaries of intelligent search.