Google Algorithm Updates

Panda Updates: First rolled out in February 2011, the Panda update aimed to reduce the visibility of low-quality, thin, or duplicate content in search results. It penalized websites with poor content and rewarded those with high-quality, original content.
Penguin Updates: Introduced in April 2012, the Penguin update targeted websites that engaged in manipulative link-building practices, such as buying or spamming links. It aimed to reward websites with natural and high-quality backlinks.
Hummingbird: Launched in August 2013, Hummingbird marked a shift in Google’s algorithm by focusing on semantic search. It aimed to understand the context and intent behind search queries better, providing more relevant results.
Mobile-Friendly Update (Mobilegeddon): Rolled out in April 2015, this update gave preference to mobile-friendly websites in mobile search results. It encouraged website owners to make their sites responsive or mobile-friendly.
RankBrain: Announced in October 2015, RankBrain is a machine learning component of Google’s algorithm. It helps Google understand and process complex or ambiguous search queries, providing more relevant results.
Fred: Although not officially confirmed by Google, webmasters observed significant ranking fluctuations in early 2017, which they attributed to an algorithm update nicknamed “Fred.” This update seemed to target websites with low-quality content and aggressive monetization.
Medic Update: In August 2018, Google released a broad core algorithm update that seemed to impact websites in the health and wellness niche disproportionately. It emphasized the importance of expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-A-T) for websites in these areas.
BERT: Announced in October 2019, BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) is a natural language processing model integrated into Google’s search algorithm. It helps Google understand the context of words in search queries, leading to more accurate search results.
Page Experience Update: This update, announced in 2020, focuses on user experience as a ranking factor. Core Web Vitals, which measure loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability, became essential metrics for SEO.