Google Algorithm Updates
Google algorithms are a complicated system intended to fetch data from its massive database due to a search query within seconds. There are hundreds of billions of web pages in Google’s search index with many information and data. These algorithms help you find the most relevant information from a large pool of information available on the web. The search engine then ranks these search results to make it convenient for users to go through them. Search results’ ranking is based on the query, relevancy of information, quality of the content, and user’s location and settings. The ranking system is based on a series of algorithms.
Previously the frequency of updates of Google algorithms was low. However, now Google makes many changes to its algorithms every year. Some major algorithm updates are mentioned below.
- Hummingbird
- Panda
- Penguin
- Payday
- Fred
- Rankbrain
- Pigeon
- Page Layout Algorithm
- EMD (Exact Match Domain)
- Mobilegeddon
Here is a brief discussion about each of the above-mentioned algorithm updates.
Hummingbird:
Google Hummingbird algorithm update took place in the fall of 2013. Before this update, the search result was concentrated precisely on the entire query, be it a single word or a long sentence. The results provided for the question were to the point and did not offer any details. The main goals of introducing this update were conversational search, human search, and voice search foundations. The Hummingbird update is regarded as the most significant game-changing update. It is probably because of its emphasis on understanding natural language queries to analyze what a user is exactly looking for.
Rankbrain:
Google announced the Google Rankbrain algorithm update on October 26, 2015. The foundation of this update was the Hummingbird algorithm. This system was intended to help Google understand the intention of a search query and show results accordingly. It is a machine learning system, and it was the first time when machine learning system was introduced in search results at Google. The Rankbrain algorithm assesses the type of query and its meaning apply the weights of the signals on that meaning and kind.Â
Panda:
The Google algorithm update named Panda was introduced to reduce thin search result content, low-quality content and recognize compelling and unique content. In short, it was developed to get rid of content farms. Google Panda algorithm is responsible for assigning a quality classification to webpages. The ranking of pages is based on this classification. It helps in boosting sites’ performance. Google announced this update on February 23, 2011.
Pigeon:
The Google Pigeon update is regarded as one of the most significant local search engine updates. It was launched on July 24, 2011. This update was aimed to provide a better local search results experience. The local businesses got benefit as a result of this update. As a result of the Pigeon update, Google rewarded local companies having a strong presence and visibility in search results. Local search results improved extensively as a result of the development of this update. The Pigeon algorithm makes search results on Google Search and Google Map more uniform in functionality and appearance.
Penguin:
Google’s Penguin update was a webspam algorithm update launched in April 2012. Google launched this update for targeting manipulative link building and link spam to improve Search engine Optimization. Penguin was an addition to the armoury of Google to fight against low-quality content. This update enabled Google to have more control over Black Hat SEO techniques by reducing its effectiveness. Since its launch, the algorithm has been updated and refreshed by Google about five to six times.
Page Layout Algorithm:
Google launched the Page Layout Algorithm update on January 19, 2012. The target of the Page Layout Algorithm was websites having more static advertisements. These kinds of ads compel users to roll down the page for seeing the content. Page Layout Algorithm did not include pop-ups and overlay advertisements in this update. This algorithm was updated, refreshed, and automated three times. Only one percent of websites were affected by this algorithm update.
Payday:
Goggle launched Payday Loan Algorithm Update in 2013 to target spammed sites and spammed queries. This algorithm was further updated three times. After the launch of this algorithm, SEO professionals started paying more attention to Google’s Webmaster Guidelines while designing their content. Black Hat SEO techniques became riskier than before.
Exact Match Domain EMD:
Google launched the EMD or Exact Match Domain algorithm update in 2012. As the name implies, this algorithm targeted exact match domain names. That does not mean that it merely targeted identical match domain names only; instead, it focused on the content’s quality on those websites. The reason for targeting these websites was that those websites had no value for users. The introduction of EMD reduced the Black Hat SEO practice of buying an exact match domain name and stuffing it with thin content by SEO professionals.
Fred:
Google announced the algorithm update named Fred on March 24, 2017. Fred is not precisely an algorithm or a set of processes. It refers to any algorithm or update related to quality that Google does not explicitly identify. These unconfirmed Google updates started coming to notice in 2015. Not all unspecified updates are identified as Fred, but only those who affect more websites.
Mobilegeddon:
Mobilegeddon update is known to be Google’s mobile-friendly update. Google launched this update on April 21, 2015. Google extended the use of this update as a ranking signal on February 26, 2015. This update affected every website; its impact was still not more significant than Penguin and Panda. It did not provide a grey area to the pages. They were either mobile-friendly or not. There was no in-between. This update intended to enhance the user experience.
Latest Google Algorithm Update:
Google announced the Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers BERT algorithm update on December 19, 2019. It is regarded as the most reliable and latest language processing algorithm across 70 languages in Google Search. According to this update, Google understands words in a query concerning other words. The languages covered by this algorithm are Afrikaans, Albanian, Bulgarian, Chinese, French, English, Dutch, Japanese, German, Turkish, Urdu, Thai, Spanish, and others.
