Google Algorithm Updates

Google algorithm updates are changes to the systems Google uses to rank search results. Most are small and unannounced, but several times a year Google releases broad core updates and spam updates, which it confirms on its Search Status Dashboard. This page tracks the confirmed updates and collects every guide on this site about how Google ranks pages.

Google’s own guidance on core updates says it makes significant, broad changes to its search systems several times a year, and that most sites do not need to do anything when one rolls out.

Recent confirmed Google updates

These are the most recent ranking updates Google has confirmed on the Google Search Status Dashboard. Dates are when each rollout started and finished. I update this table when Google announces a new one.

The types of update Google releases

Core updates

A core update is a broad change to how Google assesses content overall. It does not target one site or one tactic. Pages can rise or fall because Google has become better at judging which results are most helpful, not because something on your site broke. Core updates usually take one to three weeks to roll out.

Spam updates

Spam updates improve the systems that detect pages breaking Google’s spam policies, such as link schemes, cloaking, scaled content abuse and site reputation abuse. If a spam update hits a site, the fix is to remove the violation, not to wait for the next update.

Helpful content and reviews

Google ran separate helpful content and reviews updates between 2021 and 2023. With the March 2024 core update, the helpful content system became part of Google’s core ranking systems, so its signals now move with core updates rather than on their own schedule.

Discover and other surface updates

Some updates affect a single surface, such as the February 2026 Discover update. If traffic changes only in Discover or only in Images, check that report in Search Console on its own before assuming a sitewide problem.

The landmark updates that shaped modern SEO

• Panda (2011): demoted thin, low-quality and duplicated content. It is the reason content quality became a ranking conversation.
• Penguin (2012): targeted manipulative link building. It is why link quality matters far more than link count.
• Hummingbird (2013): rebuilt how Google interprets queries, moving from matching keywords to understanding meaning.
• Mobile-friendly update (2015): made mobile usability a ranking factor, and Google later moved to mobile-first indexing.
• RankBrain (2015): Google’s first widely discussed machine learning system for understanding queries it had never seen before.
• BERT (2019): improved how Google reads the context of words in a sentence, especially in longer, conversational queries.
• Page experience (2021): brought Core Web Vitals into ranking signals alongside HTTPS and mobile usability.
• Helpful content system (2022): rewarded content written for people over content written to rank, and was folded into core ranking in March 2024.
• March 2024 core and spam updates: introduced the scaled content abuse, site reputation abuse and expired domain abuse policies that still shape what is safe to publish.

How to tell if an update affected your site

1. Wait for the rollout to finish. Rankings move around during a rollout. Check the end date on the Search Status Dashboard first.
2. Compare like with like. Google suggests waiting at least a full week after an update finishes, then comparing that week in Search Console with the week before it started.
3. Separate the surfaces. Look at Web, Images, Video, News and Discover separately. A drop in one does not mean a drop in all.
4. Find the pattern. Sort pages and queries by the change in clicks. Small drops of a few positions rarely need action. Large, sustained drops across a section of the site do.
5. Rule out other causes. Tracking changes, a migration, a robots.txt mistake or a seasonal dip can look exactly like an algorithm hit. My diagnostic checklist for sudden traffic drops walks through them in order.

What to do after a drop

Google’s advice is to avoid quick fixes. Review the pages that lost the most visibility and ask honestly whether they are the most helpful, reliable and people-first answer to the query. Improve or restructure what can be improved. Deleting content is a last resort. Some changes are recognised within days, but it can take months, and sometimes the next core update, for improvements to show. If you would like a second pair of eyes, an SEO audit separates algorithm effects from technical problems quickly.

Questions about Google algorithm updates

If an update has hit your traffic and you want a clear plan, request a free audit and I will tell you what changed and what to fix first.