Google’s core algorithm plays a vital role in how content ranks on the web.
It dictates the content ranks better than the other, depending on a host of different factors.
Webmasters ensure their websites or their client’s websites position themselves to be more visible on the web.
Google often updates its core algorithm to ensure users get quality recommendations when searching for content on the web.
This happens more often than you can imagine, even thousands of times every year. But not all updates introduce significant changes.
Most comprise of small changes that do not affect the website rankings of many sites.
But once in a while, Google rolls out a disruptive core algorithm update that massively shakes things up.
These disruptive updates change how the way search engine marketing is done, forever.
Since 2011 there have been eight significant Google Algorithm changes, which we’ll be detailing below.
1. Panda
Google introduced the Google search Panda algorithm update in February 2011.
But it wasn’t until nearly five years later, in January 2016, when Google permanently integrated it in its search engine’s core algorithm.
By giving priority to high-quality content, Panda disrupted website rankings of low-quality sites.
Panda analyzed sites and gave them a quality score that was then used to determine SERP rankings.
The quality score was based on various factors that Google considered to make up a high-quality website. It majorly hit sites with duplicate, plagiarized, and thin content.
After Panda was permanently incorporated in the core algorithm, webmasters adjusted by doing several things, they removed duplicate content, thin content that is content with few words or meaningless text, plagiarism, and stuffed keywords.
2. Penguin
Google rolled out the Penguin update on April 24, 2012. It majorly paid attention to links.
Penguin’s inclusion in the core algorithm penalized sites with spammy links and those with stuffy backlinks.
Sites with spammy backlinks and those had links from PBNs were in big trouble after the update.
Penguin made SEO gurus reconsider the whole link-building process.
Building high-quality links gradually were the key to stay on the safe side. You can check the growth of links by using tools like SEO Spyglass.
3. Hummingbird
Google search engine’s hummingbird update, rolled out on August 22, 2013. It allowed content to start ranking, depending on the search intent and not just keywords.
In the early days of Google, it was easy to rank on search by including the relevant keywords to your content as many times as possible. But with the hummingbird update, Google started to consider the user’s search intent.
That way, a user can be shown a page that, for instance, provides answers to their search query despite the lack of the specific keywords entered in a search query.
With the Hummingbird update, webmasters had to expand their keyword research scope to focus on the search intent.
4. Mobile
Directly from its name, it was targeted at the ranking of pages on mobile devices.
Google’s search engine began giving priority to mobile-optimized pages in terms of usability and speed.
Webmasters had to ensure their sites had a mobile version that is well optimized to enable both user-friendliness and faster loading.
The Mobile update dates back to April 21, 2015. From 2015, Google shifted focus to mobile versions of websites, and the same has been cemented with the follow-up 2018 and 2020 updates.
5. RankBrain
RankBrain was an update based on machine learning and artificial intelligence whose central purpose was to help Google deliver better results.
Google incorporated it into the Hummingbird algorithm introduced in 2013. RankBrain was considered the third-most important factor in page ranking by Google when it rolled out.
With RankBrain onboard, Google’s search engine started providing search results based on a variety of factors, including a user’s past search history and synonyms.
Google also gave more precedence to the user’s search intent more profoundly.
Webmasters responded to the update by ensuring their pages had more relevance to the user’s search intent.
6. Medic
On May 4, 2018, the Medic update was launched, It majorly affected sites in the medical, finance, law, and education domains.
The update factored in the strength of expertise, authority, trust (EAT) signals typically part of the more extensive Quality Rater Guidelines document. Websites that were majorly affected by the medic update had weak E-A-T signals.
Although there was no proven way to recover from the medic update, some of the recommended methods included hiring expert writers and building brand agencies.
But of course, backlinks do matter as well, and they help solidify your site’s authority.
7. Bert
Google’s Bert algorithm update included refinement of search results in extension of previous updates rolled out in Panda, Hummingbird, and RankBrain.
It placed focus on well-written content with meaning. The Bert update was added to Google’s core algorithm on October 22, 2019.
8. Core Updates
Since 2017, Google has been improving its core algorithm in updates that were simply referred to as Core Updates.
Google has rolled out several “Core updates” since 2017, which have, unfortunately, been less transparent on what they entail.
The updates are often considered improvements to previous significant changes rolled out in Google’s core search algorithm.
However, you can check how such updates affect your rankings or your competitors’ ranking by using specific tools.
For instance, Rank Tracker helps webmasters try to figure out how to adapt when a site has been negatively affected.
Conclusion
Significant updates to Google’s core algorithm can impact your site negatively in rankings.
But from previous updates, it’s clear that focusing on producing meaningful and quality content, and increasing your site’s authority will help you be better positioned to rank better.
In summary, provide value, and Google will reward you.
