The 9 Major Google Updates Up Till Now

From time to time, Google makes changes to their algorithm system. Occasionally these changes are nothing much to worry about as they are just small tweaks or fixes, but sometimes they do have a significant impact on the SERPs. So here, we have a cheat sheet that will let you know everything about the substantial development made to Google’s algorithm and how you can take precautions to stay in the safe zone.

Some of the major changes made within Google are listed below to let you know about the development of the algorithm for the past decade.

Panda

Launch date: February 24, 2011

Things to watch out for: Duplicate, plagiarized or thin content; user-generated spam; keyword stuffing

When it first came out, Panda was used as a filter and was not part of Google’s algorithm. It was integrated into the main algorithm in January 2016. The way Panda works are that it gives a ‘score’ to web pages, which it then uses to rank them. To avoid being on the bad side of Panda, be sure to check your site regularly for content duplication and keyword stuffing.

Penguin

Launch date: April 24, 2012

Things to watch out for: Spammy or irrelevant links; links with over-optimized anchor text

Integrated into google’s algorithm in late 2016, the job of penguin is to look for and down-rank sites that try to manipulate by using spammy or irrelevant links. Penguin also works in real-time, which is different from Panda. To be safe, keep monitoring your link profile’s growth. A backlink checker such as the SEO SpyGlass might come handy here. When you go into the tool’s summary tab, observe the graphs and keep an eye on any unexpected spikes.

Pirate

Launch date: Aug 2012

Things to watch out for: Pirated content

The Pirate update was brought in by Google in 2012 so that pirated sites don’t make it higher in the search results. It looks for sites that have violated several copyright notes and de-ranks them. This way, pirated sites are less accessed and don’t reach the top of the queries. It’s simple enough to avoid this: Don’t distribute content that has been copyrighted without the owner’s permission.

Hummingbird

Launch date: August 22, 2013

Things to watch out for: Keyword stuffing; low-quality content

Hummingbird helps searchers reach the content they are looking for by matching what the searcher intends to know rather than individual terms. Although keywords play an essential role in determining which sites are selected, Hummingbird will make it possible for a site to make it to the list even if the site doesn’t contain the exact keywords, provided it has the content the user intends to know. How it does this complicated task is that it uses natural language processing, which is dependent on factors such as co-occurring terms, semantic indexing, and synonyms. Try to know what type of content the end-user wants. When you start creating content that is diverse, creative & speaks in a way your user base understands, you will not only farewell with SEO but also in terms of user engagement.

Pigeon

Release Date:  July 24, 2014

Things to watch out for Poor on- and off-page SEO

Pigeon works based on what location the users are accessing from. The core algorithm and the local algorithm were brought real close by this update as local search results now use traditional SEO factors. To make sure your site fairs well with this algorithm, work on-page, and off-page SEO. WebSite Auditor’s on-page analysis can help you here. You should also try to get listed in business directories that are relevant as they can help your site rank and also act as backlinks.’

Mobile

Launch date: April 21, 2015

Things to watch out for: Lack of a mobile version of the page; poor mobile usability

Also known as Mobileeddon, Google Mobile’s Update searches for sites that are not really optimized for mobile use or don’t have a mobile site and down ranks them or remove them from the SERPs. This way, Google’s Mobile update makes sure that mobile-friendly websites stay at the top of the search result. To make sure Google Mobile doesn’t filter you out, focus on usability and speed, and make your site as mobile-friendly as possible. To know what you are lacking, give Google’s mobile-friendly test as this will help you identify what needs to be improved.

RankBrain

Launch date: October 26, 2015

Things to watch out for: Lack of query-specific relevance features; shallow content; poor UX

Rankbrain plays a significant role in which sites end up in the search results as Google calls it the third most important factor when it comes to ranking. Being a part of

Google’s Hummingbird algorithm, Rankbrain, is a machine learning system that assists Google is working on a query and determining what the user means by it. It then brings in the best results for these queries.

You can use WebSite Auditor’s TF-IDF tool, which can help you find out what concepts and terms are used by the top-ranking competitors.

Possum

Launch date: September 1, 2016

Things to watch out for: Tense competition in your target location

Possum checks the searcher’s location and then ranks sites according to how close the business is to the location of the searcher. Businesses located outside the physical city area also received a boost because of Possum. If you want to fare well with Possum, you need to expand your keyword list. Keywords have always been relevant, but they have even more critical when it comes to local businesses due to how the local SERPs of Possum works.

Fred

Launch date: March 8, 2017

Things to watch out for: Thin, affiliate-heavy or ad-centered content

Fred hunts for sites that go against Google’s webmaster guidelines. The sites that are in danger of being filtered out from Fred are those with low-quality posts and exist for the sole purpose of getting ad revenue. This one is simple as you just need to make sure that if you are running ads, then the content you are offering is relevant and high quality.

If you want your website perfectly optimized as per the Google search algorithm updates then contact Froztech right now. We are the leading SEO agency in Miami