Friday, October 16, 2015

Google updates

2016 Google Updates

SEOs Confused, Puzzled After Google’s Mystery Update

Below is a summary of some of the questions, answers and additional confusion around the Google core algorithm update this weekend and the Panda news



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Yesterday, Google confirmed there was a core ranking algorithm update over the weekend. They also informed the industry that the Panda algorithm is part of the core ranking algorithm now. Both items we reported yesterday, but the Panda news was actually something that likely happened months ago, whereas the core ranking update was this weekend.
Reporting both the same day may have led to some to confusion in the industry. In addition, whenever Google shares more information about their algorithms with the community, it often leads to even more questions and confusion. I wanted to share some of the confusion within the industry and try to clarify what I can at this point and explain what I cannot clarify at this point.

The Weekend Update Did Not Refresh Panda Penalties

Since Google said the Panda algorithm is part of the core ranking algorithm, some would assume that the weekend core ranking update may have set new Panda scores, and thus may have “freed” some of the sites impacted negatively from the Panda algorithm. This is not the case.
Gary Illyes of Google said clearly on Twitter that it had nothing to do with the Panda signals. He said, “The recent ranking fluctuations you noticed have absolutely nothing to do with Panda or other animals.”

Google Panda Doesn’t Run In Real Time

Another item of confusion was if Panda is now real-time. It is not. Gary Illyes quickly responded to those saying it was real time that it was not.
Gary said “The real time Panda stuff is wrong.” He explained that Panda is not running immediately or in real time.
John Mueller of Google added in a video hangout, at 28 minutes in, that the Panda scores are still not run in real time or when the core algorithm refreshes. Panda scores still seem to have to be run on their own and at different intervals.

Panda Updates Should Be More Regular

All of that being said, Google’s John Mueller also added in that hangout, at the 30-minute mark, that he thinks this will result in the Panda updates happening “a little [bit] faster, a little bit more regular.”
He said:
[I] mean it’s something where we we we try to look at the quality of the website and understand which ones are higher quality, which ones in general are lower quality and take that into account when ranking the site. This is essentially just a way of kind of making those updates a little [bit] faster, a little bit more regular.
He added seconds later that he won’t promise this to be the case, but he suspects it will be the case.

What Does It Mean That Panda Is Part Of Core?

The big confusion is that we still are talking about some aspects of the Panda algorithm as potentially not being part of the core algorithm. What does it mean that it is part of the core algorithm? Does Panda run on its own? Does it run with the core ranking algorithm? Do parts of Panda run with the core algorithm, while other parts do not?

What Signals Ran In This Weekend’s Core Algorithm Update?

We know many people noticed a big update this weekend with Google. But we also know it is not related to Panda. What type of sites did it impact, then? Google typically doesn’t discuss the core ranking signals and updates. Was this one of those Phantom updates that we are all confused about? These core ranking updates will always be mysterious and hard for webmasters to understand because of that.

What’s The Difference, Now That Panda Is Part Of Core?

The biggest question I have is how it differs both in terms of ranking and to webmasters impacted by Panda. What is the difference to them, now that Panda is part of the core update? Google has not answered this question yet, but we sent them the question and hope to get an answer.
In summary, these are just some of the questions, confusion and discussions going on right now in the SEO/Webmaster industry after we learned of the core ranking algorithm update over the weekend and learning that Panda algorithm is part of the core ranking algorithm.
Trust me, this will all lead to even more questions, but hopefully, less confusion. Content copy from http://searchengineland.com/seos-confused-puzzled-after-googles-mystery-update-240141

Google Panda Is Now Part Of Google’s Core Ranking Signals

Say goodbye to the typical Google Panda updates. Panda is now baked in as one of Google's core ranking algorithm.

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Google Panda, one of Google’s most significant spam-fighting algorithms, launched in February 2011, is officially part of Google’s core ranking algorithm. It is unclear exactly when this happened; we at Search Engine Land are trying to find out.
Jennifer Slegg posted a Panda guide that was vetted by Google’s PR team, and part of that included a statement that said Panda is now part of Google’s core ranking algorithm. Here is that statement:
Panda is an algorithm that’s applied to sites overall and has become one of our core ranking signals. It measures the quality of a site, which you can read more about in our guidelines. Panda allows Google to take quality into account and adjust ranking accordingly.
Gary Illyes from Google confirmed the authenticity of this quote.
For one thing, this means Google will likely never confirm another Panda update for us in the future. The last confirmed Panda update was Panda 4.2, which was expected to roll out over “several months.”
Well, now that algorithm is baked into their main algorithm.
We still have a lot of questions around what this means. Is the core ranking algorithm updating in real time? It doesn’t seem so, as we just reported this morning on a new core ranking algorithmupdate that ran over the weekend. That update seems to have had some Panda signals in it, based on my analysis of the reports in the SEO community.
We are also trying to find out approximately when Google incorporated Panda into their core algorithm and what that means. I estimate that it happened in late 2015, but I am trying to get something on the record from Google.
As we hear more, we will update you.
Postscript: Just to be clear, Gary Illyes from Google updated us on Twitter saying the Panda/Core update stuff here is not real time. content copy from http://searchengineland.com/google-panda-is-now-part-of-googles-core-ranking-signals-240069


Google Core Ranking Update 2016:

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Zineb Ait Bahajji (in French), Gary Illyes and John Mueller of Google have confirmed on Twitter that what webmasters were seeing over the weekend was not the Penguin update we are expecting, but rather a core ranking algorithm update.
On Friday, I noticed early signs of an update, and then, over the weekend, I called this a “massive update.” I asked Google for confirmation, and on Twitter they confirmed it was a core ranking algorithm update.
Google rarely confirms core algorithm updates. They did confirm one back in May 2015 for us, but itis rare that they confirm these. So it is a big thing for Google to go on record that this update webmasters were seeing was related to the core update.
Webmasters are still waiting for the Penguin update that was delayed and expected to be pushed sometime during this month. So there was a lot of confusion, with SEOs and webmasters thinking this update was Penguin-related.
But the signs didn’t point to Penguin; it seemed more core search- or Panda-related. Now we know it was core search, and potentially also Panda, which is now baked into the core search algorithm. More on that in a few minutes over here. Content copy from http://searchengineland.com/google-had-a-major-core-ranking-algorithm-update-this-past-weekend-240067

2015 Google Updates



Panda 4.2 (#28) — July 17, 2015


































2014 Google Updates



















Penguin Everflux — December 10, 2014

A Google representative said that Penguin had shifted to continuous updates, moving away from infrequent, major updates. While the exact timeline was unclear, this claim seemed to fit ongoing flux after Penguin 3.0 (including unconfirmed claims of a Penguin 3.1).




















Penguin 3.0 — October 17, 2014

More than a year after the previous Penguin update (2.1), Google launched a Penguin refresh. This update appeared to be smaller than expected (<1% of US/English queries affected) and was probably data-only (not a new Penguin algorithm). The timing of the update was unclear, especially internationally, and Google claimed it was spread out over "weeks".








































HTTPS/SSL Update — August 6, 2014

After months of speculation, Google announced that they would be giving preference to secure sites, and that adding encryption would provide a "lightweight" rankings boost. They stressed that this boost would start out small, but implied it might increase if the changed proved to be positive.






























Payday Loan 3.0 — June 12, 2014

Less than a month after the Payday Loan 2.0 anti-spam update, Google launched another major iteration. Official statements suggested that 2.0 targeted specific sites, while 3.0 targeted spammy queries.








































2013 Google Updates

















































Hummingbird — August 20, 2013

Announced on September 26th, Google suggested that the "Hummingbird" update rolled out about a month earlier. Our best guess ties it to a MozCast spike on August 20th and many reports of flux from August 20-22. Hummingbird has been compared to Caffeine, and seems to be a core algorithm update that may power changes to semantic search and the Knowledge Graph for months to come.




















Unnamed Update — July 26, 2013

MozCast tracked a large Friday spike (105° F), with other sources showing significant activity over the weekend. Google has not confirmed this update.
MozCast Update (Google+)










Knowledge Graph Expansion — July 19, 2013

Seemingly overnight, queries with Knowledge Graph (KG) entries expanded by more than half (+50.4%) across the MozCast data set, with more than a quarter of all searches showing some kind of KG entry.










Panda Recovery — July 18, 2013

Google confirmed a Panda update, but it was unclear whether this was one of the 10-day rolling updates or something new. The implication was that this was algorithmic and may have "softened" some previous Panda penalties.










Multi-Week Update — June 27, 2013

Google's Matt Cutts tweeted a reply suggesting a "multi-week" algorithm update between roughly June 12th and "the week after July 4th". The nature of the update was unclear, but there was massive rankings volatility during that time period, peaking on June 27th (according to MozCast data). It appears that Google may have been testing some changes that were later rolled back.








































Domain Crowding — May 21, 2013

Google released an update to control domain crowding/diversity deep in the SERPs (pages 2+). The timing was unclear, but it seemed to roll out just prior to Penguin 2.0 in the US and possibly the same day internationally.






























2012 Google Updates









Panda #23 — December 21, 2012

Right before the Christmas holiday, Google rolled out another Panda update. They officially called it a "refresh", impacting 1.3% of English queries. This was a slightly higher impact than Pandas #21 and #22.




























































August/September 65-Pack — October 4, 2012

Google published their monthly (bi-monthly?) list of search highlights. The 65 updates for August and September included 7-result SERPs, Knowledge Graph expansion, updates to how "page quality" is calculated, and changes to how local results are determined.
















































































Panda 3.9 (#17) — July 24, 2012

A month after Panda 3.8, Google rolled out a new Panda update. Rankings fluctuated for 5-6 days, although no single day was high enough to stand out. Google claimed ~1% of queries were impacted.


















































Penguin 1.1 (#2) — May 25, 2012

Google rolled out its first targeted data update after the "Penguin" algorithm update. This confirmed that Penguin data was being processed outside of the main search index, much like Panda data.






























Panda 3.6 (#14) — April 27, 2012

Barely a week after Panda 3.5, Google rolled out yet another Panda data update. The implications of this update were unclear, and it seemed that the impact was relatively small.










Penguin — April 24, 2012

After weeks of speculation about an "Over-optimization penalty", Google finally rolled out the "Webspam Update", which was soon after dubbed "Penguin." Penguin adjusted a number of spam factors, including keyword stuffing, and impacted an estimated 3.1% of English queries.










Panda 3.5 (#13) — April 19, 2012

In the middle of a busy week for the algorthim, Google quietly rolled out a Panda data update. A mix of changes made the impact difficult to measure, but this appears to have been a fairly routine update with minimal impact.






























Panda 3.4 (#12) — March 23, 2012

Google announced another Panda update, this time via Twitter as the update was rolling out. Their public statements estimated that Panda 3.4 impacted about 1.6% of search results.










Search Quality Video — March 12, 2012

This wasn't an algorithm update, but Google published a rare peek into a search quality meeting. For anyone interested in the algorithm, the video provides a lot of context to both Google's process and their priorities. It's also a chance to see Amit Singhal in action.




















February 40-Pack (2) — February 27, 2012

Google published a second set of "search quality highlights" at the end of the month, claiming more than 40 changes in February. Notable changes included multiple image-search updates, multiple freshness updates (including phasing out 2 old bits of the algorithm), and a Panda update.










Panda 3.3 (#11) — February 27, 2012

Google rolled out another post-"flux" Panda update, which appeared to be relatively minor. This came just 3 days after the 1-year anniversary of Panda, an unprecedented lifespan for a named update.


















































2011 Google Updates



















Panda 3.1 (#9) — November 18, 2011

After Panda 2.5, Google entered a period of "Panda Flux" where updates started to happen more frequently and were relatively minor. Some industry analysts called the 11/18 update 3.1, even though there was no official 3.0. For the purposes of this history, we will discontinue numbering Panda updates except for very high-impact changes.




























































516 Algo Updates — September 21, 2011

This wasn't an update, but it was an amazing revelation. Google CEO Eric Schmidt told Congress that Google made 516 updates in 2010. The real shocker? They tested over 13,000 updates.


















































Google+ — June 28, 2011

After a number of social media failures, Google launched a serious attack on Facebook with Google+. Google+ revolved around circles for sharing content, and was tightly integrated into products like Gmail. Early adopters were quick to jump on board, and within 2 weeks Google+ reached 10M users.




























































Panda/Farmer — February 23, 2011

A major algorithm update hit sites hard, affecting up to 12% of search results (a number that came directly from Google). Panda seemed to crack down on thin content, content farms, sites with high ad-to-content ratios, and a number of other quality issues. Panda rolled out over at least a couple of months, hitting Europe in April 2011.










Attribution Update — January 28, 2011

In response to high-profile spam cases, Google rolled out an update to help better sort out content attribution and stop scrapers. According to Matt Cutts, this affected about 2% of queries. It was a clear precursor to the Panda updates.
Latest Google Algorithm change (Search News Central)










2010 Google Updates





























Instant Previews — November 2010

A magnifying glass icon appeared on Google search results, allowing search visitors to quickly view a preview of landing pages directly from SERPs. This signaled a renewed focus for Google on landing page quality, design, and usability.




















Brand Update — August 2010

Although not a traditional algorithm update, Google started allowing the same domain to appear multiple times on a SERP. Previously, domains were limited to 1-2 listings, or 1 listing with indented results.






























Google Places — April 2010

Although "Places" pages were rolled out in September of 2009, they were originally only a part of Google Maps. The official launch of Google Places re-branded the Local Business Center, integrated Places pages more closely with local search results, and added a number of features, including new local advertising options.

2009 Google Updates









Real-time Search — December 2009

This time, real-time search was for real- Twitter feeds, Google News, newly indexed content, and a number of other sources were integrated into a real-time feed on some SERPs. Sources continued to expand over time, including social media.






























2008 Google Updates









Google Suggest — August 2008

In a major change to their logo-and-a-box home-page Google introduced Suggest, displaying suggested searches in a dropdown below the search box as visitors typed their queries. Suggest would later go on to power Google Instant.










Dewey — April 2008

A large-scale shuffle seemed to occur at the end of March and into early April, but the specifics were unclear. Some suspected Google was pushing its own internal properties, including Google Books, but the evidence of that was limited.
Google's Cutts Asking for Feedback on March/April '08 Update (SERoundtable)

2007 Google Updates



















Universal Search — May 2007

While not your typical algorithm update, Google integrated traditional search results with News, Video, Images, Local, and other verticals, dramatically changing their format. The old 10-listing SERP was officially dead. Long live the old 10-listing SERP.

2006 Google Updates









False Alarm — December 2006

There were stirrings about an update in December, along with some reports of major ranking changes in November, but Google reported no major changes.










Supplemental Update — November 2006

Throughout 2006, Google seemed to make changes to the supplemental index and how filtered pages were treated. They claimed in late 2006 that supplemental was not a penalty (even if it sometimes felt that way).

2005 Google Updates









Big Daddy — December 2005

Technically, Big Daddy was an infrastructure update (like the more recent "Caffeine"), and it rolled out over a few months, wrapping up in March of 2006. Big Daddy changed the way Google handled URL canonicalization, redirects (301/302) and other technical issues.
Indexing timeline (MattCutts.com)










Google Local/Maps — October 2005

After launching the Local Business Center in March 2005 and encouraging businesses to update their information, Google merged its Maps data into the LBC, in a move that would eventually drive a number of changes in local SEO.










Jagger — October 2005

Google released a series of updates, mostly targeted at low-quality links, including reciprocal links, link farms, and paid links. Jagger rolled out in at least 3 stages, from roughly September to November of 2005, with the greatest impact occurring in October.




















XML Sitemaps — June 2005

Google allowed webmasters to submit XML sitemaps via Webmaster Tools, bypassing traditional HTML sitemaps, and giving SEOs direct (albeit minor) influence over crawling and indexation.










Personalized Search — June 2005

Unlike previous attempts at personalization, which required custom settings and profiles, the 2005 roll-out of personalized search tapped directly into users? search histories to automatically adjust results. Although the impact was small at first, Google would go on to use search history for many applications.










Bourbon — May 2005

"GoogleGuy" (likely Matt Cutts) announced that Google was rolling out "something like 3.5 changes in search quality." No one was sure what 0.5 of a change was, but Webmaster World members speculated that Bourbon changed how duplicate content and non-canonical (www vs. non-www) URLs were treated.
Google Update "Bourbon" (Batelle Media)










Allegra — February 2005

Webmasters witnessed ranking changes, but the specifics of the update were unclear. Some thought Allegra affected the "sandbox" while others believed that LSI had been tweaked. Additionally, some speculated that Google was beginning to penalize suspicious links.










Nofollow — January 2005

To combat spam and control outbound link quality, Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft collectively introduce the "nofollow" attribute. Nofollow helps clean up unvouched for links, including spammy blog comments. While not a traditional algorithm update, this change gradually has a significant impact on the link graph.

2004 Google Updates









Google IPO — August 2004

Although obviously not an algorithm update, a major event in Google's history - Google sold 19M shares, raised $1.67B in capital, and set their market value at over $20B. By January 2005, Google share prices more than doubled.










Brandy — February 2004

Google rolled out a variety of changes, including a massive index expansion, Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI), increased attention to anchor text relevance, and the concept of link "neighborhoods." LSI expanded Google's ability to understand synonyms and took keyword analysis to the next level.










2003 Google Updates









Florida — November 2003

This was the update that put updates (and probably the SEO industry) on the map. Many sites lost ranking, and business owners were furious. Florida sounded the death knell for low-value late 90s SEO tactics, like keyword stuffing, and made the game a whole lot more interesting.










Supplemental Index — September 2003

In order to index more documents without sacrificing performance, Google split off some results into the "supplemental" index. The perils of having results go supplemental became a hotly debated SEO topic, until the index was later reintegrated.




















Esmeralda — June 2003

This marked the last of the regular monthly Google updates, as a more continuous update process began to emerge. The "Google Dance" was replaced with "Everflux". Esmerelda probably heralded some major infrastructure changes at Google.










Dominic — May 2003

While many changes were observed in May, the exact nature of Dominic was unclear. Google bots "Freshbot" and "Deepcrawler" scoured the web, and many sites reported bounces. The way Google counted or reported backlinks seemed to change dramatically.










Cassandra — April 2003

Google cracked down on some basic link-quality issues, such as massive linking from co-owned domains. Cassandra also came down hard on hidden text and hidden links.










Boston — February 2003

Announced at SES Boston, this was the first named Google update. Originally, Google aimed at a major monthly update, so the first few updates were a combination of algorithm changes and major index refreshes (the so-called "Google Dance"). As updates became more frequent, the monthly idea quickly died.

2002 Google Updates









1st Documented Update — September 2002

Before "Boston" (the first named update), there was a major shuffle in the Fall of 2002. The details are unclear, but this appeared to be more than the monthly Google Dance and PageRank update. As one webmaster said of Google: "they move the toilet mid stream".

2000 Google Updates









Google Toolbar — December 2000

Guaranteeing SEO arguments for years to come, Google launched their browser toolbar, and with it, Toolbar PageRank (TBPR). As soon as webmasters started watching TBPR, the Google Dance began.

Naming Schemes

There’s been no single rhyme or reason to how Google updates are named. The first named update was christened "Boston" by Webmaster World users, as it was announced at SES Boston. The next few updates ("Cassandra", "Dominic", "Esmerelda") were also named by WMW users, in a style similar to how hurricanes are named. Once the monthly "Google Dance" ended, that system fell into disuse. Later updates were named by various sources, including WMW, and major search blogs and forums. Google themselves have coined the occasional name ("Caffeine"), while a few names have been Google-inspired ("Vince" and "Panda" were named after Google engineers). Content copy from https://moz.com/google-algorithm-change