9 Major Google Algorithm Updates Which Can Impact Your Website in 2023

Google algorithm updates are an ongoing process that helps the search engine improve the quality and relevance of the search results for its users. These updates are designed to combat spam, low-quality websites, and manipulative tactics used by some website owners to improve their search rankings. Here is an in-depth look at some of the major Google algorithm updates:

Panda: The Panda update, first released in 2011, aimed to lower the ranking of low-quality sites and return higher-quality sites near the top of the search results. This update targeted websites with thin or duplicate content, keyword stuffing, and a high number of ads. Websites that were affected by this update saw a significant drop in their search rankings, and many had to make significant changes to their content and website structure to recover.

Penguin: The Penguin update, released in 2012, targeted websites that used manipulative link building tactics to improve their search rankings. This included buying links, participating in link farms, and using automated link building tools. Websites that were affected by this update saw a significant drop in their search rankings, and many had to remove or disavow the manipulative links to recover.

Hummingbird: The Hummingbird update, released in 2013, was designed to improve the handling of longer, more complex queries and to better understand the intent behind a search. This update focused on understanding the meaning behind the words in a query rather than just matching keywords. This allowed Google to provide more relevant and useful results for long-tail keywords and conversational queries.

Pigeon: The Pigeon update, released in 2014, aimed to improve the local search results by providing more relevant, useful, and accurate local results. This update improved the way that Google understands and interprets local signals, such as the location of a business and the relevance of a website to a particular location. This update helped local businesses to rank better in the search results, especially when they had a well-optimized Google My Business listing.

Mobilegeddon: The Mobilegeddon update, released in 2015, increased the importance of mobile-friendliness as a ranking factor for mobile search results. This update made it essential for websites to be mobile-friendly in order to rank well in the search results, and many websites had to make changes to their design and layout to become mobile-friendly.

RankBrain: The RankBrain update, released in 2015, is a machine-learning algorithm that helps Google better understand the intent behind a search query. This update uses artificial intelligence to understand the context of a query and provide more relevant and useful results.

Fred: This update, released in 2017, targets low-quality websites that exist primarily to generate revenue through advertising and affiliate links. Websites that were affected by this update had a significant drop in their search rankings and had to make changes to their content and website structure to recover.

BERT: The BERT update, released in 2019, is a neural network-based technique for natural language processing that helps Google better understand the meaning behind the words on a web page. This update allows Google to understand the context of a query and the relationships between words on a web page to provide more relevant and useful results.

Core Update: This update, released in 2020, is a broad algorithm update that affects multiple aspects of the search results, it is not targeting any specific type of website, but rather it aims to improve the overall search results quality by adjusting the ranking factors and the way Google handle the content and backlinks.

Google makes hundreds of changes to its algorithm every year, and it can be challenging for website owners to keep up with all of the changes. You reach a good digital marketing agency to rank your website on first page.