Timeline of Google Search#Full timeline

Google Search, offered by Google, is the most widely used search engine on the World Wide Web as of 2023, with over eight billion searches a day. This page covers key events in the history of Google's search service.

For a history of Google the company, including all of Google's products, acquisitions, and corporate changes, see the history of Google page.

Big picture

class="wikitable, sort-able" ! Time period !! Development
1996–1997	Development of basic technology, launch of search engine, attachments like gmail and classroom come later.
2000	Internationalization: search is launched in 13 new languages.
2001–2004	Google launches many new search categories, such as Google News, Google Books, and Google Scholar.
2002 onward	The beginning of explicitly announced search algorithm updates.
2008–2010	Faster search experience for user: Google Suggest (experimental launch 2004, integrated into main search engine 2008), Google Instant (2010), and Google Instant Previews.
2005, 2009, 2012	Google starts using web histories to help in searches (2005), experimentally launches social search (2009), and launches Search Plus Your World (2012).
2009–2010	Caffeine update for faster indexing of the web and fresher and on-topic search results.
2011–2014	Google Panda (an update to some parts of Google's search algorithm) is released in 2011, with announced updates continuing till September 2014 (Panda 4.1). Stated goals include cracking down on spam, content farms, scrapers, and websites with a high ad-to-content ratio.
2012–2014	Google Penguin (an update to some parts of Google's search algorithm) is released in 2012, with the goal of concentrating on webspam. The last named update is in October 2014. Starting December 2014, Penguin moves to continuous updates (Penguin Everflux).
2012 onward	Google integrates Google Knowledge Graph into its search results.
2013	Google releases Google Hummingbird, an update that may enable semantic search in the future and integrate better with the Knowledge Graph.
2014 onward	Google makes a major update to its algorithm for local search. The update gets the name Google Pigeon.
2015 onward	Google alerts webmasters to mobile usability issues in January, and announces a major update to its search algorithm, to be rolled out starting April 21, 2015, that will heavily demote mobile-unfriendly sites for web searches on mobile devices.
2019 April \| In early April 2019, a large de-indexing bug was reported to be dropping pages out of the index. Google wrote on April 11, 2019, "The indexing issue has now been fully resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience. We appreciate your patience as we restored normal operation."{{Cite tweet \|author=Danny Sullivan \|author-link=Danny Sullivan (technologist) \|user=searchliaison \|number=1116152155713392640 \|date=11 April 2019 \|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240630042030/https://nitter.lucabased.xyz/searchliaison/status/1116152155713392640 \|archive-date=30 June 2024 \|title=The indexing issue has now been fully resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience. We appreciate your patience as we restored normal operation.}}

Full timeline

class="wikitable sortable" ! Year !! Month and date (if available) !! Event type !! Event
1996	August	Prelude	Larry Page and Sergey Brin, graduate students in computer science at Stanford University, begin working on BackRub, the precursor to Google Search. Page begins work alone initially, supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, and Brin joins him shortly thereafter. The project is an outgrowth of their work on the Stanford Digital Library Project.{{Cite journal \| volume = 35 \| issue = 1–7 \| page = 3 \| last = Brin \| first = Sergey \|author2=Lawrence Page \| title = The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine \| journal = Computer Networks and ISDN Systems \| date = April 1998 \| doi = 10.1016/S0169-7552(98)00110-X \| citeseerx = 10.1.1.109.4049 \| s2cid = 7587743 }}{{Cite journal \| volume = 21 \| pages = 37–47 \| last = Brin \| first = Sergey \|author2=Rajeev Motwani \|author3=Terry Winograd \| title = What can you do with a web in your pocket \| journal = Data Engineering Bulletin \| year = 1998 \| citeseerx = 10.1.1.107.7614 }}[https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=9411306 The Stanford Integrated Digital Library Project], Award Abstract #9411306, September 1, 1994 through August 31, 1999 (Estimated), award amount $521,111,001{{cite journal \| doi = 10.1126/science.323.5910.54 \| volume = 323 \| issue = 5910 \| pages = 54–58 \| last = Mervish \| first = Jeffrey \| title = NSF Rethinks Its Digital Library \| journal = Science \| date = January 2, 2009 \| pmid = 19119211 \| s2cid = 45137596 \| doi-access = free }} Scott Hassan is the project's lead programmer, writing much of the code for the original Google Search engine.{{cite web \|last1=Fisher \|first1=Adam \|title=Brin, Page, and Mayer on the Accidental Birth of the Company that Changed Everything \|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/07/valley-of-genius-excerpt-google \|website=Vanity Fair \|date=July 10, 2018 \|access-date=23 August 2019}}{{cite magazine \|last1=McHugh \|first1=Josh \|title=Google vs. Evil \|url=https://www.wired.com/2003/01/google-10/ \|access-date=24 August 2019 \|magazine=Wired \|date=1 January 2003}} Web crawling begins in March.
1997	September 15	Domain	The domain Google.com is registered.{{cite web\|url=https://www.google.com/about/company/history/\|title = Our history in depth\|date = September 15, 1997\|access-date = February 1, 2014}}
2000	May 9	Internationalization	Google adds ten new languages: French, German, Italian, Swedish, Finnish, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Norwegian and Danish.
2000	September 12	Internationalization	Google launches search services in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean.{{cite web\|url=http://googlepress.blogspot.com/2000/09/google-launches-new-japanese-chinese.html\|title = Google Launches New Japanese, Chinese, and Korean Search Services: Company Continues Aggressive Global Expansion To Bring Award-Winning Search Engine To Internet Users Worldwide\|date = September 12, 2000\|access-date = February 1, 2014}}
2000	October	Advertising	Google AdWords launches with 350 customers.
2000	December	User experience	Google Toolbar is released, allowing people to search without visiting the Google homepage, and also offering them more information about the webpages they visit. Some commentators have argued that this marks the beginning of search engine optimization and the Google Dance.{{cite web\|url=http://moz.com/google-algorithm-change\|title = Google Algorithm Change History\|publisher = SEOmoz\|access-date = February 1, 2014}}
2001	July	Search category	Google launches Google Image Search with over 250 million images in its search database.
2001	December	Review	Google releases its first annual Google Zeitgeist.
2002	September	Search category	Google launches Google News.
2002	September	Search algorithm update	Google makes the first publicly announced update to its search algorithm. A number of Internet commentators view this as the death of PageRank (the name for Google's system for ranking pages) and a significant decline in the quality of Google's search results.{{cite web\|url=http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/5688.htm\|title = September, 2002 Google Update Discussion - Part 1\|date = February 1, 2014}}{{cite web\|url=http://level343.com/article_archive/2011/03/14/dancing-the-google-dance-one-algo-change-two-algo-change-go/\|title = Dancing the Google Dance: And a One Algo Change, Two Algo Change, Go!\|publisher = Level343.com\|date = March 14, 2011\|access-date = February 1, 2014}}{{cite magazine\|url=https://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2002/10/55597\|title = Google Degraded? Geeks Aghast\|magazine = Wired\|date = October 5, 2002\|access-date = February 1, 2014\|last = Boutin\|first = Paul}}
2003	February	Search algorithm update	Google announces the Boston update at SES Boston. The update saw major algorithmic changes and the promise of frequent index updates.
2003	April	Search algorithm update	Google announces the Cassandra update. The update claims to crack down on link spam, including mutual links between co-owned websites, as well as hidden text and hidden links.{{cite web\|url=http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/11622.htm\|title = Cassandra: Google update algo analysis thread. NO whining or cheering about how your site is doing in this one.\|publisher = WebmasterWorld (forum)\|access-date = February 1, 2014}}
2003	May	Search algorithm update	Google announces the Dominic update. Commentators believed that the update affected the way backlinks were counted, and many webmasters reported new bots from Google that bounced.{{cite web\|url=http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/13088-1-30.htm?highlight=dominic#msg160172\|title = Understanding Dominic - Part 2\|publisher = WebmasterWorld (forum)\|access-date = February 1, 2014}}
2003	June	Search algorithm update	Google announces what will later turn out to have been the last of its regular monthly updates. This update is called the Esmeralda update.{{cite web\|url=http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/6/23/201523/090\|title = Google Update Esmeralda\|date = June 24, 2003\|access-date = February 1, 2014}}
2003	July	Search algorithm update	Google announces the Fritz update, and also a change to its update policy, as it moves towards continuous rather than batch processing of updates.{{cite web\|url=http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/explaining-algorithm-updates-and-data-refreshes/\|title = Explaining algorithm updates and data refreshes\|date = 2006-12-23}}{{cite magazine\|url=https://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/02/ff_google_algorithm/all/1\|title = Exclusive: How Google's Algorithm Rules the Web\|magazine = Wired\|volume = 17\|issue = 12\|last = Levy\|first = Steven\|date = February 22, 2010\|access-date = February 1, 2014}}
2003	September	Search algorithm update	Google announces a "supplemental index" in order to be able to index some parts of the web more rapidly.{{cite web\|url=http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2067049/Search-Engine-Size-Wars-Googles-Supplemental-Results\|title = Search Engine Size Wars & Google's Supplemental Results\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)\|date = September 2, 2003\|access-date = February 1, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Watch}} The supplemental index would eventually be scrapped.
2003	November	Search algorithm update	Google announces the Florida update, which commentators consider game-changing in that it completely destroyed the value of 1990s SEO tactics and ushered in a new era of search engine optimization.{{cite web\|url=http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2066309/What-Happened-To-My-Site-On-Google\|title = What Happened To My Site On Google?\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)\|date = December 6, 2003\|access-date = February 1, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Watch}}
2003	December	Search category	Google launches Google Print, that would later become Google Books.
2004	January	Search algorithm update	Google announces the Austin update, to continue with the work of combating SEO tactics that Florida had made good progress on.{{cite web\|url=http://www.searchenginejournal.com/the-latest-on-update-austin-googles-january-update/237/\|title = The latest on update Austin (Google's January update)\|date = January 31, 2004\|publisher = Search Engine Journal\|access-date = February 1, 2014}}{{cite web\|url=http://www.search-marketing.info/newsletter/articles/austin-florida.htm\|title = Google Update Austin: Google Update Florida Again\|last = Wall\|first = Aaron\|date = January 2004\|access-date = February 1, 2014\|publisher = Search Marketing Journal}}
2004	February 17–20	Search algorithm update	Google announces the Brandy update, a massive index expansion, Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI), increased attention to anchor text relevance, and the concept of link "neighborhoods."{{cite web\|url=http://www.webpronews.com/googles-brandy-update-exposed-2004-02\|title = Google's Brandy Update Exposed\|last = French\|first = Garrett\|date = February 17, 2004\|access-date = February 1, 2014\|publisher = WebProNews}}{{Cite web\|url=http://www.sitepoint.com/brandy-google-update/\|title = How To Beat Google's 'Brandy' Update\|publisher = Sitepoint\|date = March 8, 2004\|access-date = February 1, 2014}}
2004	October	Search category	Google launches Google Scholar, its search service for academic publications.
2004	December	User experience	Google Suggest is introduced as a Google Labs feature.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/googlecom-finally-gets-google-suggest-feature-14626\|title = Google.com Finally Gets Google Suggest Feature\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)\|publisher = Search Engine Land\|date = August 25, 2008\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}{{cite web\|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/at-loss-for-words.html\|title = At a loss for words?\|date = August 25, 2008\|publisher = Official Google Blog\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}
2005	January	Search algorithm update	To combat link spam, Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft collectively introduce the nofollow attribute.{{Cite web\|url=http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2062985/Google-Yahoo-MSN-Unite-On-Support-For-Nofollow-Attribute-For-Links\|title = Google, Yahoo, MSN Unite On Support For Nofollow Attribute For Links\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)\|date = January 18, 2005\|access-date = February 1, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Watch}}{{Cite web\|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ok3XBSJ-s0&t=4s\|title = Nofollow Link Attributes Rel Sponsored and UGC Tags Google SEO Latest Updates\|last = Zone\|first = Ganpati\|author-link = Ganpati Zone\|date = September 16, 2019\|access-date = September 16, 2019\|publisher = Ganpati Zone}}
2005	February 2	Search algorithm update	Google announces the Allegra update, whose effects are unclear.{{cite web\|url=http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2047678/Googles-Feb.-2005-Update\|title = Google's Feb. 2005 Update\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)\|date = February 10, 2005\|access-date = February 1, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Watch}}{{cite web\|url=http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum30/27801.htm\|title = Update Allegra - Google Update 2-2-2005\|publisher = Webmaster World (forum)\|access-date = February 1, 2014}}
2005	May	Search algorithm update	Google announces the Bourbon update.{{cite web\|url=http://battellemedia.com/archives/2005/06/google_update_bourbon.php\|title = Google Update "Bourbon"\|date = June 1, 2005\|access-date = February 1, 2014\|publisher = Battelle Media\|last = Battelle\|first = John\|author-link = John Battelle}}{{cite web\|url=http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/002130.html\|title = Bourbon Update Survival Kit\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|date = June 27, 2005\|access-date = February 1, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Roundtable}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2061927/GoogleGuy-Shares-Advice-About-May-2005-Bourbon-Update\|title = GoogleGuy Shares Advice About May 2005 "Bourbon" Update\|date = June 1, 2005\|access-date = February 1, 2014\|last = Price\|first = Gary\|publisher = Search Engine Watch}}
2005	June	Webmaster tools	Google allows webmasters to submit XML sitemaps via Webmaster Tools, bypassing the need for HTML sitemaps.{{cite web\|url=http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2061916/New-Google-Sitemaps-Web-Page-Feed-Program\|title = New "Google Sitemaps" Web Page Feed Program\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)\|date = June 2, 2005\|access-date = February 1, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Watch}}
2005	June	User experience	Google launches personalized search that automatically taps into users' web histories.{{cite web\|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/06/search-gets-personal.html\|title = Search gets personal\|date = June 28, 2005\|access-date = February 1, 2014\|publisher = Google blog}}{{Cite web\|url=http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2061728/Google-Relaunches-Personal-Search-This-Time-It-Really-Is-Personal\|title = Google Relaunches Personal Search - This Time, It Really Is Personal\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)\|date = June 28, 2005\|access-date = February 1, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Watch}}
2005	June	User experience	Google launches Google Mobile Web Search.
2005	September	Search algorithm update	Although Google denies running an update, Matt Cutts clarifies that PageRank was refreshed for some pages recently (with a three-month refresh cycle) causing changes to many site ranks. Observers call this the Gilligan update.{{cite web\|url=http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/whats-an-update/\|title = What's an update?\|last = Cutts\|first = Matt\|author-link = Matt Cutts\|date = September 8, 2005\|access-date = February 1, 2014}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2061165/Googles-Cutts-Says-Not-An-Update-I-Say-An-Update-Just-Not-A-Dance\|title = Google's Cutts Says Not An Update - I Say An Update, Just Not A Dance\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)\|date = September 9, 2005\|access-date = February 1, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Watch}}
2005	September–November	Search algorithm update	Google announces and rolls out the Jagger update in three stages, one in September, one in October, one in November.{{cite web\|url=http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/002711.html\|title = A Review Of The Jagger 2 Update\|date = October 26, 2005\|last= Pfeiffer\|first = Ben\|access-date = February 1, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Roundtable}}{{cite web\|url=http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum30/32004.htm\|title = Dealing With Consequences of Jagger Update: Your site dropped? Lost rankings? What to do now?\|publisher = Webmaster World (forum)\|access-date = February 1, 2014}}
2005	December (rollout continues till March 2006)	Search algorithm update	Google begins rolling out the Big Daddy update, continuing for the next few months until March 2006. The update changes URL canonization, site redirects, and related items.{{cite web\|url=http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/indexing-timeline/\|title = Indexing timeline\|date = May 16, 2006\|access-date = February 1, 2014\|last = Cutts\|first = Matt\|author-link = Matt Cutts}}
2006	May	Review	Google releases Google Trends to make it easy to visualize the popularity of searches over time.
2007	May 16	Search algorithm update + user experience	Google launches Universal Search, integrating traditional search results with results from Google News, Google Image Search, Google Video Search, and other verticals. This is believed to be a major milestone in the user experience.{{cite web\|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/05/universal-search-best-answer-is-still.html\|title = Universal search: The best answer is still the best answer\|date = May 16, 2007\|last = Mayer\|first = Marissa\|author-link = Marissa Mayer\|publisher = Official Google Blog\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-20-google-universal-search-11232\|title = Google Launches "Universal Search" & Blended Results\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)\|publisher = Search Engine Land\|date = May 16, 2007\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}
2007	June	Search algorithm update	The Buffy update happens. It is not considered a deliberate update, but rather an accumulation of many smaller changes.{{cite web\|url=http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/smx-seattle-wrap-up/\|last = Cutts\|first = Matt\|title = SMX Seattle wrap-up\|author-link = Matt Cutts\|date = June 17, 2007\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}{{cite web\|url=http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/013882.html\|title = Google "Buffy" Update - June Google.com Update\|date = June 18, 2007\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|publisher = Search Engine Roundtable}}
2008	March/April	Search algorithm update	The Dewey update seems to lead to a large-scale shuffling of results. Some observers believe that Google is pushing its own properties, such as Google Books, but evidence of this is limited.{{cite web\|url=http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/016754.html\|title = Google's Cutts Asking for Feedback on March/April '08 Update (The "Dewey" Update)\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|date = April 2, 2008\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Roundtable}}
2008	August 25	User experience	Google Suggest (later called Autocomplete), originally launched as a Labs feature in December 2004, now becomes part of Google's main site.
2009	February	Search algorithm update	The Vince update happens. Matt Cutts calls it a minor change, but some SEO commentators consider it major.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-searchs-vince-change-google-says-not-brand-push-16803\|title = Google's Vince Update Produces Big Brand Rankings; Google Calls It A Trust "Change"\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|date = March 5, 2009\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}
2009	February	Webmaster tools	Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo! announce joint support for tags that help bots identify canonical versions of webpages without affecting human visitors.{{cite web\|url=http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/canonical-link-tag/\|title = Learn about the Canonical Link Element in 5 minutes\|last = Cutts\|first = Matt\|author-link = Matt Cutts\|date = February 15, 2009\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}{{cite web\|url=http://moz.com/blog/canonical-url-tag-the-most-important-advancement-in-seo-practices-since-sitemaps\|title = Canonical URL Tag - The Most Important Advancement in SEO Practices Since Sitemaps\|last = Fishkin\|first = Rand\|date = February 13, 2009\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = SEOmoz}}
2009	August 10 (announced), rollout completed and made live June 8, 2010	Search algorithm update	Named Caffeine, this update is announced on August 10, 2009. It promises faster crawling, expansion of the index, and a near-real-time integration of indexing and ranking.{{cite web\|url=http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2009/08/help-test-some-next-generation.html\|title = Help test some next-generation infrastructure\|date = August 10, 2009\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Google Webmaster Central Blog}}{{cite web\|url=http://mashable.com/2009/08/10/google-caffeine/\|title = Google Caffeine: A Detailed Test of the New Google\|last = Parr\|first = Ben\|author-link = Ben Parr\|date = August 10, 2009\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Mashable}}{{cite news\|url=https://techcrunch.com/2009/08/10/caffeine-its-google-on-red-bull-or-something/\|title = Caffeine: It's Google On Red Bull, Or Something\|last = Siegler\|first = MG\|date = August 10, 2009\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|work = TechCrunch}}{{cite news\|url=https://techcrunch.com/2009/12/28/google-caffeine-faster-search-index/\|title = Google Is About To Get Caffeinated With A Faster Search Index\|last = Schoenfeld\|first = Erick\|date = December 28, 2009\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|work = TechCrunch}} The rollout is made live on June 8, 2010.{{cite web\|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/our-new-search-index-caffeine.html\|title = Our new search index: Caffeine\|date = June 8, 2010\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Official Google Blog}}{{cite news\|url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/06/08/google-caffeine/\|title = Caffeine: Google Finally Brews Its New Pot Of Web Results — 50% Fresher\|date = June 8, 2010\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|work = TechCrunch\|last = Siegler\|first = MG}}{{cite web\|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/our-new-search-index-caffeine.html\|title = Google's New Indexing Infrastructure "Caffeine" Now Live\|last = Fox\|first = Vanessa\|author-link = Vanessa Fox\|date = June 8, 2010\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}
2009	October 26	Search category	Google introduces Social Search as a Google Labs feature.{{cite web\|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/introducing-google-social-search-i.html\|title = Introducing Google Social Search: I finally found my friend's New York blog!\|date = October 26, 2009\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Official Google Blog}} The feature is expanded further in late January 2010.{{cite web\|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/search-is-getting-more-social.html\|title = Search is getting more social\|publisher = Official Google Blog\|date = January 27, 2010\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|last= Heymans\|first = Maureen}}
2009	December 7	Search category	Google launches real-time search for real-time Twitter feeds, Google News, and other freshly indexed content.{{cite web\|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/relevance-meets-real-time-web.html\|title = Relevance meets the real-time web\|date = December 7, 2009\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Official Google Blog}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-launches-real-time-search-31355\|title = Google Launches Real Time Search Results\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)\|publisher = Search Engine Land\|date = December 7, 2009\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}
2010	Late April, early May	Search algorithm update	The update, named May Day, is an algorithm change affecting the long tail. Foreshadowing Google Panda, the update penalizes sites with large amounts of thin content.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-confirms-mayday-update-impacts-long-tail-traffic-43054\|title = Google Confirms "Mayday" Update Impacts Long Tail Traffic\|date = May 27, 2010\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land\|last = Fox\|first = Vanessa\|author-link = Vanessa Fox}}{{cite web\|url=http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/022293.html\|title = Video: Google's Matt Cutts On May Day Update\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|publisher = Search Engine Roundtable\|date = May 30, 2010\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}
2010	September 8	User experience	Google launches Google Instant, described as a search-before-you-type feature: as users are typing, Google predicts the user's whole search query (using the same technology as in Google Suggest, later called the autocomplete feature) and instantaneously shows results for the top prediction.{{cite web\|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/search-now-faster-than-speed-of-type.html\|title = Search: now faster than the speed of type\|date = September 8, 2010\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Official Google Blog}}{{cite news\|url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/09/08/google-instant-its-search-before-you-type/\|title = Google Instant: It Searches Before You Type\|last = Tsotsis\|first = Alexia\|date = September 8, 2010\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|work = TechCrunch}}{{cite web\|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/google-instant-behind-scenes.html\|title = Google Instant, behind the scenes \|date = September 9, 2010\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Official Google Blog}} Google claims that this is estimated to save 2–5 seconds per search query.{{cite web\|url=https://www.google.com/insidesearch/features/instant/about.html\|title = About Google Instant \|access-date = February 2, 2014}} SEO commentators initially believe that this will have a major effect on search engine optimization, but soon revise downward their estimate of the impact.{{cite web\|url=http://moz.com/blog/google-instant-fewer-changes-to-seo-than-the-average-algo-update\|last = Fishkin\|first = Rand\|publisher = SEOmoz\|title = Google Instant: Fewer Changes to SEO than the Average Algo Update\|date = September 21, 2010\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}
2010	November 9	User experience	Google launches Instant Previews, a feature where users can view previews of the ranked pages by hovering over the links in the search engine results page.{{cite web\|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/beyond-instant-results-instant-previews.html\|title = Beyond Instant results: Instant Previews\|date = November 9, 2010\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Official Google Blog}}{{cite web\|url=http://mashable.com/2010/11/09/google-instant-previews/\|title = Google Now Lets You Preview Search Results Before You Click Them\|last = Parr\|first = Ben\|author-link = Ben Parr\|date = November 9, 2010\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Mashable}}{{cite news\|url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/11/09/google-instant-previews/\|title = Google Instant Previews: Get Ready To Be 5% More Likely Satisfied With Google Search\|date = November 9, 2010\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|last = Siegler\|first = MG\|work = TechCrunch}}
2010	December 1	Search algorithm update	Google updated its algorithm to penalize websites that provided a bad experience to users. The update is prompted by a November 26 New York Times story about a fraudulent company called DecorMyEyes that used the publicity generated by negative customer reviews to rise in the search engine rankings.{{cite web\|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/being-bad-to-your-customers-is-bad-for.html\|title = Being bad to your customers is bad for business\|date = December 1, 2010\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Official Google Blog\|last = Singhal\|first = Amit\|author-link = Amit Singhal}}{{cite news\|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/business/28borker.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all&\|title = A Bully Finds a Pulpit on the Web\|last = Segal\|first = David\|date = November 26, 2010\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|newspaper = New York Times}}
2010	December	Search algorithm update (announcement/confirmation)	Both Google and Microsoft's Bing indicate that they use social signals, including signals from Twitter and Facebook, to rank search results.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/what-social-signals-do-google-bing-really-count-55389\|title = What Social Signals Do Google & Bing Really Count?\|date = December 1, 2010\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-webmaster-video-reconfirms-use-of-social-signals-59320\|title = Google Webmaster Video Reconfirms Use Of Social Signals\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|date = December 20, 2010\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}{{Cite web\|url=http://seoabout.com/social-signals-as-a-search-ranking-factor-for-seo/\|title=Social Signals as a Search Ranking Factor for SEO\|author-link = Amel Mehenaoui (Marketing Consultant)\|date=2014-12-01\|language=en-US\|access-date=2020-04-22}}
2011	January–February	Search algorithm update	Foreshadowing Google Panda, Google penalizes Overstock.com and JCPenney for the use of SEO tactics.{{cite web\|url=http://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4252178.htm\|title = Overstock.com's Google Rankings - Too Good?\|date = January 12, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Google SEO News & Discussion Forum, Webmaster World}}{{cite news\|url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704520504576162753779521700?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052748704520504576162753779521700.html\|title = Google Penalizes Overstock for Search Tactics\|last= Efrati\|first = Amir\|date = February 24, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|newspaper = Wall Street Journal}}
2011	January 28	Search algorithm update	Google launches its Attribution algorithm change to better sieve out websites that scrape content. Matt Cutts claims that slightly over 2% of search queries are affected, but less than 0.5% of results change noticeably.{{cite web\|url=http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/algorithm-change-launched/\|title = Algorithm change launched\|last= Cutts\|first = Matt\|author-link = Matt Cutts\|date = January 28, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchnewscentral.com/20110131124/Latest/latest-google-algorithm-change.html\|title = It's all about attribution\|last = Harry\|first = David\|publisher = Search News Central\|date = January 31, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}
2011	February 23–24	Search algorithm update	Google launches Google Panda, a major update affecting 12% of search queries. The update continues with the earlier work of cracking down on spam, content farms, scrapers, and websites with a high ad-to-content ratio.{{cite web\|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/finding-more-high-quality-sites-in.html\|title = Finding more high-quality sites in search\|publisher = Official Google Blog\|date = February 24, 2011\|last1 = Singhal\|first1 = Amit\|author-link = Amit Singhal\|last2 = Cutts\|first2 = Matt\|author-link2 = Matt Cutts\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}{{cite magazine\|url=https://www.wired.com/business/2011/03/the-panda-that-hates-farms/\|title = TED 2011: The 'Panda' That Hates Farms: A Q&A With Google's Top Search Engineers\|last = Levy\|first = Steven\|author-link = Steven Levy\|date = March 3, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|magazine = Wired Magazine}}{{cite web\|publisher=Search Engine Land\|url=http://searchengineland.com/how-google-panda-places-updates-created-a-rollercoaster-ride-for-iyp-traffic-101683\|title=How Google Panda & Places Updates Created A Rollercoaster Ride For IYP Traffic\|date = November 21, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014}} The rollout is gradual over several months, and Panda will see many further updates.
2011	March 30	User experience, incorporation of user feedback	Google launches the +1 button so that users can offer feedback on search results.{{cite web\|url=https://www.google.com/+/learnmore/+1/\|title = The +1 Button: Show appreciation for things you like on the web\|access-date = February 2, 2014}} Commentators liken this to the like button seen on Facebook.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/meet-1-googles-answer-to-the-facebook-like-button-70569\|title = Meet +1: Google's Answer To The Facebook Like Button\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)\|date = March 30, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}{{cite news\|url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/03/30/google-plus-one/\|title = With +1, Google Search Goes Truly Social — As Do Google Ads\|last = Siegler\|first = MG\|work = TechCrunch\|date = March 30, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}
2011	April 11	Search algorithm update	Google rolls out Panda to all English queries worldwide (not limited to English-speaking countries) and integrates new signals into its ranking algorithm.{{cite web\|url=http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2011/04/high-quality-sites-algorithm-goes.html\|title = High-quality sites algorithm goes global, incorporates user feedback\|publisher = Google Webmaster Central blog\|date = April 11, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|last = Singhal\|first = Amit\|author-link = Amit Singhal}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-rolls-out-its-panda-update-internationally-and-begins-incorporating-searcher-blocking-data-72497\|title = Panda 2.0: Google Rolls Out Panda Update Internationally & Incorporates Searcher Blocking Data\|last = Fox\|first= Vanessa\|author-link = Vanessa Fox\|date = April 11, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}
2011	May 9	Search algorithm update	Google rolls out further minor updates to Panda but does not discuss them in detail, saying they are more like Panda 2.1 than Panda 3.0.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/its-panda-update-2-not-3-google-says-76508\|title = It's Panda Update 2.1, Not Panda 3.0, Google Says\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan\|date = May 10, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}{{cite web\|url=http://www.seroundtable.com/google-panda-3-13379.html\|title = Google Panda 3.0\|date = May 9, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|publisher = Search Engine Roundtable}}
2011	June 2	Webmaster tools	Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft announce Schema.org, a joint initiative that supports a richer range of tags that websites can use to convey better information.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/schema-org-google-bing-yahoo-unite-79554\|title = Schema.org: Google, Bing & Yahoo Unite To Make Search Listings Richer Through Structured Data\|last = Fox\|first= Vanessa\|author-link = Vanessa Fox\|date = June 2, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}{{cite web\|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/introducing-schemaorg-search-engines.html\|title = Introducing schema.org: Search engines come together for a richer web\|publisher = Official Google Blog\|last = Guha\|first = Ramanathan\|date = June 2, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}{{cite news\|url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/06/02/google-yahoo-and-bing-collaborate-on-structured-data-to-make-search-listings-richer/\|title = Google, Yahoo, And Bing Collaborate On Structured Data To Make Search Listings Richer\|last = Empson\|first = Rip\|date = June 2, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|work = TechCrunch}}
2011	June 21	Search algorithm update	Google rolls out Panda 2.2.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/official-google-panda-update-2-2-is-live-82611\|title = Official: Google Panda Update 2.2 Is Live\|date = June 21, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/why-google-panda-is-more-a-ranking-factor-than-algorithm-update-82564\|title = Why Google Panda Is More A Ranking Factor Than Algorithm Update\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)\|date = June 21, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}{{cite web\|url=http://www.stonetemple.com/a-holistic-look-at-panda-with-vanessa-fox/\|title = A Holistic Look at Panda with Vanessa Fox\|last = Enge\|first = Eric\|date = July 12, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Stone Temple}}
2011	July 23	Search algorithm update	Google rolls out Panda 2.3.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/official-google-panda-2-3-update-is-live-87230\|title = Official: Google Panda 2.3 Update Is Live\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|date = July 26, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}
2011	August 12	Search algorithm update	Google rolls out Panda 2.4, making Panda available in all languages around the world, except Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.{{cite web\|url=http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2011/08/high-quality-sites-algorithm-launched.html\|title = High-quality sites algorithm launched in additional languages\|last = Singhal\|first = Amit\|author-link = Amit Singhal\|date = August 12, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Official Google Blog}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/googles-panda-update-launches-internationally-in-most-languages-89214\|title = Google Panda Update 2.4: Panda Goes International, In Most Languages\|last = Fox\|first = Vanessa\|author-link = Vanessa Fox\|date = August 12, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}
2011	August 16	User experience	Google rolls out expanded sitelinks, starting with 12-pack links (but later reducing to 6-pack).{{cite web\|url=http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2011/08/evolution-of-sitelinks-expanded-and.html\|title = The evolution of sitelinks: expanded and improved\|publisher = Inside Search (the official Google Search blog)\|date = August 16, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|last = Rocha\|first = Daniel}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/official-google-sitelinks-expands-to-12-pack-89555\|title = Official: Google Sitelinks Expands To 12 Pack\|date = August 16, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|last= Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}
2011	September 15	Webmaster tools	Google rolls out pagination elements for websites to communicate to Google that various webpages are different pages of the same article.{{cite web\|url=http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2011/09/pagination-with-relnext-and-relprev.html\|title = Pagination with rel="next" and rel="prev"\|publisher = Google Webmaster Central Blog\|date = September 15, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|last1 = Li\|first1 = Benjia\|last2 = Kupke\|first2 = Joachim}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-provides-new-options-for-paginated-content-92906\|title = Google Provides New Options for Paginated Content\|last = Fox\|first = Vanessa\|author-link = Vanessa Fox\|date = September 15, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}
2011	September 30	Search algorithm update	Google rolls out Panda 2.5.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/confirmed-google-panda-2-5-update-arrived-this-week-95222\|title = Confirmed: Google Panda 2.5 Update Arrived This Week\|last = McGee\|first = Matt\|date = September 30, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}} Although the specifics of the update are unclear, a few sites gain significantly and a few others lose significantly.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-panda-losers-today-show-winners-youtube-95257\|title = Google Panda 2.5: Losers Include Today Show, The Next Web; Winners Include YouTube, Fox News\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)\|date = October 1, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}} Other minor flux updates occur on October 3, October 5 and October 13, and some commentators call these Panda 3.0 and 3.1.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/taking-a-closer-look-at-the-googles-panda-2-5-flux-97603\|title = Panda Update 3.0 Live & Panda "Flux"\|date = October 19, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|last = Fox\|first = Vanessa\|author-link = Vanessa Fox\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}
2011	October 18	User experience, SEO data	Google announces that they will start encrypting all search queries for security purposes.{{cite web\|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/making-search-more-secure.html\|title = Making search more secure\|date = October 18, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Official Google Blog\|last = Kao\|first = Evelyn}} This disrupts organic keyword referral data for many websites, making search engine optimization harder.{{cite web\|url=http://moz.com/blog/google-hides-search-referral-data-with-new-ssl-implementation-emergency-whiteboard-friday\|title = Google Hides Search Referral Data with New SSL Implementation - Emergency Whiteboard Friday\|last= Wheeler\|first = Aaron\|date = October 21, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = SEOmoz}}
2011	November 3	Search algorithm update	Google announces a Freshness update that would give priority to fresher, more recent search results, and claims this could affect 35% of search queries.{{cite web\|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/giving-you-fresher-more-recent-search.html\|title = Giving you fresher, more recent search results\|last = Singhal\|first = Amit\|author-link = Amit Singhal\|date = November 3, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-search-algorithm-change-for-freshness-to-impact-35-of-searches-99856\|title = Google Search Algorithm Change For Freshness To Impact 35% Of Searches; Twitter Firehose Remains Off\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|date = November 3, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}{{cite news\|url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/11/03/googles-new-algorithm-update-impacts-35-of-searches/\|title = Google's New Algorithm Update Impacts 35% Of Searches\|last = Perez\|first = Sarah\|date = November 3, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|work = TechCrunch}} The algorithm largely affects time-sensitive queries. A number of sites gain and many others lose as a result of the update.{{cite news\|url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/11/07/the-winners-losers-of-googles-freshness-update-revealed/\|title = The Winners & Losers Of Google's Freshness Update Revealed\|last = Perez\|first = Sarah\|date = November 7, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|work = TechCrunch}}
2011	November 14	Search algorithm update	Google announces a 10-pack of updates, and says that this begins a series of monthly announcements of packs of updates.{{cite web\|url=http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2011/11/ten-recent-algorithm-changes.html\|title = Ten recent algorithm changes\|date = November 14, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Inside Search: the Official Google Search blog\|last = Cutts\|first = Matt\|author-link = Matt Cutts}}
2011	November 18	Search algorithm update	Google releases an allegedly minor Panda update, which SEO commentators label as Panda 3.1, despite the lack of a generally agreed upon update named Panda 3.0.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/minor-google-panda-update-on-november-18th-101891\|title = Google Panda Update 3.1: "Minor" One Made Live On November 18th\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|date = November 21, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}{{cite web\|url=http://www.seroundtable.com/google-panda-31-14348.html\|title = Google Panda 3.1 Update : 11/18\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|date = November 21, 2011\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Roundtable}}
2012	December 2011-January 2012 (announced January 5)	Search algorithm update, user experience	A 30-change pack of updates, including landing-page quality detection, more relevant site-links, more rich snippets, and related-query improvements.{{Cite web\|url=http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/01/30-search-quality-highlights-with.html\|title = 30 search quality highlights (with codenames!): December\|date = January 5, 2012\|last = Nayak\|first = Pandu\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Inside Search: The official Google Search blog}}
2012	January 10	Search algorithm update, user experience	Google launches Search Plus Your World, a deep integration of one's social data into search.{{cite web\|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/search-plus-your-world.html\|title = Search, plus Your World\|date = January 10, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Official Google Blog\|last = Singhal\|first = Amit\|author-link = Amit Singhal}}{{cite web\|url=http://mashable.com/2012/01/10/google-launches-social-search/\|title = Google Merges Search and Google+ Into Social Media Juggernaut\|last = Ulanoff\|first = Lance\|date = January 10, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Mashable}} SEO commentators are critical of how the search results favor Google+ and push it to users, compared to more widely used social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/examples-google-search-plus-drive-facebook-twitter-crazy-107554\|title = Real-Life Examples Of How Google's "Search Plus" Pushes Google+ Over Relevancy\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)\|date = January 11, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}{{cite web\|url=http://marketingland.com/twitter-google-wwe-bing-3206\|title = Twitter Cries Foul Over Google "@WWE" Search, But Google Still Beats Bing\|date = January 11, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)\|publisher = Marketing Land}}{{cite news\|url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/01/10/search-google-plus-not-your-world/\|title = "Search Plus Your World" Is Just About Google+, Not Your World\|date = January 10, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|last = Lardinois\|first = Frederic\|work = TechCrunch}}{{cite web\|url=http://mashable.com/2012/01/13/google-social-search-too-much-too-soon/\|title = Why Google's Social Search Is Too Much, Too Soon\|last = Kessler\|first = Sarah\|date = January 13, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Mashable}}
2012	January 19	Search algorithm update	Google updates its algorithm to introduce a penalty for websites with too many ads "above the fold". The update has no name, but some SEOs use "Top Heavy" to describe the update.{{cite web\|url=http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/01/page-layout-algorithm-improvement.html\|title = Page layout algorithm improvement\|date = January 19, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Inside Search: The official Google Search blog\|last = Cutts\|first = Matt\|author-link = Matt Cutts}}
2012	February 27	Search algorithm update	The update, codenamed Venice, is announced as part of Google's end-of-February 40-pack update. Venice seemed to give substantially increased weightage to local results (location inferred from the user's IP and other signals) for many search queries, such as those looking for businesses of various types in the vicinity.{{cite web\|url=http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/02/search-quality-highlights-40-changes.html\|title = Search quality highlights: 40 changes for February\|publisher = Inside Search: the Official Google Search blog\|date = February 27, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|last = Singhal\|first = Amit\|author-link = Amit Singhal}}{{cite web\|url=http://moz.com/blog/understand-and-rock-the-google-venice-update\|title = Understand and Rock the Google Venice Update\|date = March 12, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = SEOmoz\|last = Ramsey\|first = Mike}} On the same date, Google rolls out Panda 3.3, which it bills as a data refresh rather than an algorithm change.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-confirms-panda-update-link-evaluation-local-search-rankings-113078\|title = Google Confirms Panda 3.3 Update, Plus Changes To How It Evaluates Links, Local Search Rankings & Much More\|last = McGee\|first = Matt\|date = February 27, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}
2012	March 23, April 19, April 27	Search algorithm update	March 23: Google rolls out Panda 3.4, which is claimed to affect 1.6% of search queries.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-says-panda-update-is-rolling-out-now-116444\|title = Google Says Panda 3.4 Is 'Rolling Out Now'\|last = McGee\|first = Matt\|date = March 23, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014}} Google quietly rolls out Panda 3.5 (April 19) and Panda 3.6 (April 27), with minimal impact.{{cite web\|url=http://www.seroundtable.com/google-panda-35-15065.html\|title = Google Mocks Me For Missing Panda 3.5\|date = April 26, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|publisher = Search Engine Roundtable}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/panda-update-3-6-on-april-27th-120227\|title = Confirmed: Panda Update 3.6 Happened On April 27th\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|date = May 3, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}
2012	April 24	Search algorithm update	Google launches its "Webspam update" which would soon become known as Google Penguin.{{cite web\|url=http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/04/another-step-to-reward-high-quality.html\|title = Another step to reward high-quality sites\|last = Cutts\|first = Matt\|author-link = Matt Cutts\|date = April 24, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Inside Search: The official Google Search blog}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/the-penguin-update-googles-webspam-algorithm-gets-official-name-119623\|title = The Penguin Update: Google's Webspam Algorithm Gets Official Name\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)\|date = April 26, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/penguin-update-recovery-tips-advice-119650\|title = Google Penguin Update Recovery Tips & Advice\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)\|date = April 26, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-talks-penguin-update-recover-negative-seo-120463\|title = Two Weeks In, Google Talks Penguin Update, Ways To Recover & Negative SEO\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)\|date = May 10, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}
2012	May 16	Search algorithm update	Google starts rolling out Knowledge Graph, used by Google internally to store semantic relationships between objects. Google now begins displaying supplemental information about objects related to search queries on the side.{{cite web\|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/introducing-knowledge-graph-things-not.html\|title = Introducing the Knowledge Graph: things, not strings\|last = Singhal\|first= Amit\|date = May 16, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = The Official Google Blog}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-launches-knowledge-graph-121585\|title = Google Launches Knowledge Graph To Provide Answers, Not Just Links\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|date = May 16, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}{{cite news\|url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/05/16/google-just-got-a-whole-lot-smarter-launches-its-knowledge-graph/\|title = Google Just Got A Whole Lot Smarter, Launches Its Knowledge Graph\|last = Lardinois\|first = Frederic\|date = May 16, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|work = TechCrunch}}
2012	May 25	Search algorithm update	Google rolls out an update of Google Penguin, variously called Penguin 1.1 and Penguin 2.{{Cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-pushes-first-penguin-algorithm-update-122518\|title = Google Releases Penguin Update 2\|date = May 26, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land\|last = McGee\|first = Matt}}
2012	June–September	Search algorithm update	Google rolls out updates to Google Panda: 3.7 (June 8),{{cite web\|url=http://www.seroundtable.com/google-panda-3-7-15281.html\|title = Confirmed: Google Panda 3.7 Update\|publisher = Search Engine Land\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|date = June 11, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}{{cite web\|url=http://moz.com/blog/the-bigfoot-update-aka-dr-pete-goes-crazy\|title = The Bigfoot Update (AKA Dr. Pete Goes Crazy)\|last = Meyers\|first = Peter\|date = June 11, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = SEOmoz}} 3.8 (June 25),{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/official-google-panda-update-version-3-8-on-june-25th-125945\|title = Official Google Panda Update Version 3.8 On June 25th\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|date = June 25, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}{{cite web\|url=http://www.seroundtable.com/google-panda-3-8-15350.html\|title = Google Panda 3.8 Live: June 25th & Refresh Only\|date = June 26, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Roundtable\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)}} 3.9 (July 24),{{cite web\|url=http://www.seroundtable.com/google-panda-39-official-15480.html\|title = Official: Google Panda 3.9 Refresh\|publisher = Search Engine Roundtable\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|date = July 25, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014}} 3.9.1 (August 20), and 3.9.2 (September 18).
2012	August 10	Search algorithm update	Google announces that it will start penalizing websites with repeat copyright infringements, possibly as measured by DMCA takedown requests.{{cite web\|url=http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/08/an-update-to-our-search-algorithms.html\|title = An update to our search algorithms\|last = Singhal\|first = Amit\|author-link = Amit Singhal\|date = August 10, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Inside Search: The official Google Search blog}} Some SEO commentators call this the Pirate update.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/dmca-requests-now-used-in-googles-ranking-algorithm-130118\|title = The Pirate Update: Google Will Penalize Sites Repeatedly Accused Of Copyright Infringement\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)\|date = August 10, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}
2012	September 27	Search algorithm update	Google rolls out a major update to Google Panda (the update is to the underlying algorithm, rather than merely being a data refresh), that would be dubbed Panda 4.0, but SEO commentators decide to simply call it Panda #20. The change is estimated to have affected 2.4% of search queries.{{cite web\|url=http://www.seroundtable.com/google-panda-20-15789.html\|title = 20th Google Panda Algorithm Update: Fairly Major\|date = October 4, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Roundtable\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)}}
2012	September 27	Search algorithm update	Google announces changes in the way it handles Exact-Match Domains. The change is estimated to have affected 0.6% of search queries.{{cite web\|url=http://moz.com/blog/googles-emd-algo-update-early-data\|title = Google's EMD Algo Update - Early Data\|last = Meyers\|first = Peter\|date = September 29, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = SEOmoz}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/low-quality-exact-match-domains-are-googles-next-target-134889\|title = The EMD Update: Google Issues "Weather Report" Of Crack Down On Low Quality Exact Match Domains\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|date = September 28, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}
2012	October 5	Search algorithm update	Google releases minor tweaks to Penguin, affecting about 0.3% of search queries. SEO commentators call it Penguin #3, following the lead of Panda in ditching the use of 1.x notation in favor of labeling updates by number.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-penguin-update-3-135527\|title = Google Penguin Update 3 Released, Impacts 0.3% Of English-Language Queries\|last = McGee\|first = Matt\|date = October 5, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}{{cite web\|url=http://www.seroundtable.com/google-penguin-3-15802.html\|title = Google Released 3rd Penguin Update: Not Jarring Or Jolting\|publisher = Search Engine Roundtable\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|date = October 8, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}
2012-13	November 2012-January 2013	Search algorithm update	Google releases updates to Google Panda: #21 (November 5, affecting 1.1% of queries), #22 (November 21, data refresh only), #23 (December 21, data refresh only, affecting 1.3% of queries), and #24 (January 22, affecting 1.2% of queries).
2012	December 4	Search algorithm update	Google adds Knowledge Graph to non-English queries, and says that the change goes beyond translation and also adds enhanced Knowledge Graph capabilities.{{cite web\|url=http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/12/get-smarter-answers-from-knowledge_4.html\|title = Get smarter answers from the Knowledge Graph from Português to 日本語 to русский\|last = Brown\|first = Aaron\|date = December 4, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Inside Search: The official Google Search blog}}{{cite news\|url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/12/04/googles-knowledge-graph-expands-to-more-languages-including-italian-japanese-and-russian/\|title = Google's Knowledge Graph Expands To More Languages, Including Italian, French, Japanese And Russian\|last = Lardinois\|first = Frederic\|date = December 4, 2012\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|work = TechCrunch}}
2013	March 13–14	Search algorithm update	Google rolls out Panda #25. Remarks by Matt Cutts at SMX West give people the impression that this is the last update to Panda as a distinct entity and it will thereafter be integrated into the core algorithm.{{cite web\|url=http://www.seroundtable.com/google-panda-25-16506.html\|title = Google's Final Manual Panda Refresh Here? #25 \|date = March 15, 2013\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Roundtable\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-panda-update-25-seems-to-have-hit-151732\|title = Google Panda Update 25 Seems To Have Hit\|date = March 15, 2013\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)}} On June 11, 2013, Cutts clarifies that Panda updates roll out over 10-day periods every month and are not continuous.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/googles-panda-dance-matt-cutts-confirms-panda-rolls-out-monthly-over-10-of-30-days-162950\|title = Google's Panda Dance: Matt Cutts Confirms Panda Rolls Out Monthly Over 10 Of 30 Days\|date = June 11, 2013\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)}}
2013	May 22	Search algorithm update	Google rolls out a new version of Google Penguin that it calls Penguin 2.0, which SEO commentators call Penguin #4.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/penguin-4-with-penguin-2-0-generation-spam-fighting-is-now-live-160544\|title = Penguin 4, With Penguin 2.0 Generation Spam-Fighting, Is Now Live\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|date = May 22, 2013\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}{{cite web\|url=http://moz.com/blog/penguin-2-were-you-jarred-and-or-jolted\|title = Penguin 2.0/4 - Were You Jarred and/or Jolted?\|date = May 24, 2013\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|last = Meyers\|first = Peter\|publisher = Moz}}
2013	August 6	User experience	Google adds a new feature called "in-depth articles" in its search results to feature long-form content of long-lasting value.{{cite web\|url=http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2013/08/in-depth-articles-in-search-results.html\|title = In-depth articles in search results\|publisher = Google Webmaster Central Blog\|date = August 6, 2013\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|last = Nayak\|first = Pandu}}{{cite web\|url=http://moz.com/blog/inside-indepth-articles\|title = Inside In-depth Articles: Dissecting Google's Latest Feature\|last = Meyers\|first = Peter\|date = August 13, 2013\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Moz}}
2013	August 21–22 (approximate date for rollout), September 26 (announcement)	Search algorithm update	Google releases Google Hummingbird, a core algorithm update that may enable more semantic search and more effective use of the Knowledge Graph in the future.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-hummingbird-172816\|title = FAQ: All About The New Google "Hummingbird" Algorithm\|date = September 26, 2013\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)\|publisher = Search Engine Land\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}{{cite web\|url=http://www.seroundtable.com/google-update-17268.html\|title = Some Reports Of An August 21/22 Google Update\|publisher = Search Engine Roundtable\|date = August 23, 2013\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}
2013	October 4	Search algorithm update	Google announces what it calls Penguin 2.1, its fifth version of Penguin, claiming to affect 1% of searches. The effect seems minor.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/penguin-2-1-and-5-live-173632\|title = Penguin 5, With The Penguin 2.1 Spam-Filtering Algorithm, Is Now Live\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)\|date = October 4, 2013\|access-date = February 2, 2014\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}{{cite web\|url=http://www.seroundtable.com/google-penguin-21-big-17479.html\|title = Google Penguin 2.1 Was A Big Hit\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)\|publisher = Search Engine Roundtable\|date = October 7, 2013\|access-date = February 2, 2014}}
2014	May 16	Search algorithm update	Payday Loans 2.0 algorithm change is purely low quality external link related and over-optimization. This specifically goes after high search, spammy queries such as “Payday Loans”. Google is trying to devalue sites that perform in link buying and other black hat methods to game the algorithm. {{cite web\|url=http://www.tideinteractivegroup.com/google-algorithm-timeline.php\|title = Payday Loans 2.0\|last = Freeman\|first = Josh\|author-link = Josh Freeman\|publisher = Tide Interactive Group}}
2014	May 20	Search algorithm update	Panda 4.0 is implemented to devalue sites that contained poor / low quality content. This has been an ongoing battle that Google has been chipping away at for years. Google has claimed that the algorithm change has impacted roughly 7.5% of all search queries.{{cite web\|url=http://www.tideinteractivegroup.com/google-algorithm-timeline.php\|title = Panda 4.0\|last = Freeman\|first = Josh\|author-link = Josh Freeman\|publisher = Tide Interactive Group}}
2014	July 3	Team	Matt Cutts, a Distinguished Engineer at Google who has been heading the web spam team since 2004, goes on leave till October.{{cite web\|url = http://searchengineland.com/matt-cutts-on-leave-195785\|title = Head Of Google's Web Spam Team Matt Cutts Is Going On Leave. After 14 years with Google -- and 10 years heading up the web spam team -- veteran says time for a break\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|date = July 3, 2014\|access-date = September 12, 2016}} He later extends his leave through 2015.{{cite web\|url = http://searchengineland.com/will-matt-cutts-return-extends-leave-207159\|title = Will He Ever Return? Head Of Google's Web Spam Team Matt Cutts Extends Leave Into 2015. 14 year veteran of Google says web spam fighting has been running fine since he took leave in July.\|date = October 31, 2014\|access-date = September 12, 2016\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}
2014	July 24	Search algorithm update	Google announces the rollout of Google Pigeon, a major update to its search algorithm for "local" searches such as searches related to events or businesses near one. The Pigeon update gives more weight to various search signals to deliver more relevant local results.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-makes-significant-changes-local-search-ranking-algorithm-197778\|title = Google "Pigeon" Updates Local Search Algorithm With Stronger Ties To Web Search Signal\|publisher = Search Engine Land\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|date = July 24, 2014\|access-date = April 12, 2015}}{{cite web\|url=http://blumenthals.com/blog/2014/07/25/google-updates-local-algo-with-more-web-based-signals-turmoil-in-serps/\|title = Google Updates Local Algo with More Web Based Signals – Turmoil in SERPS\|last = Blumenthal\|first = Mike\|date = July 25, 2014\|access-date = April 12, 2015}}
2014	August 6	Search algorithm update	Google announces search results will give preference to sites using HTTP Secure and SSL encryption. This added ranking signal would be a "lightweight" ranking boost.{{cite web\|url=http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2014/08/https-as-ranking-signal.html \|title=HTTPS as a ranking signal \|access-date=December 1, 2014}}
2014	August 28	User experience	Google Authorship is removed completely from search results, as already in December 2013 it reduced number of images showing in SERP's. Now it has totally gone to extinction due to lower adaptation rate by authors, to reduce mobile bandwidth and to improve user experience.{{cite web\|url=https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JohnMueller/posts/HZf3KDP1Dm8\|title = Authorship removal\|last = Mueller\|first = John\|publisher = Google Plus\|date = August 28, 2014\|access-date = April 12, 2015}}{{cite web\|url=http://www.webtechshare.com/google-authorship-ends-author-rank-still-remains/ \|title=Google Authorship Ends \|publisher=www.webtechshare.com \|access-date=August 31, 2014}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/goodbye-google-authorship-201975\|title = It's Over: The Rise & Fall Of Google Authorship For Search Results. Google has completely dropped all authorship functionality from the search results and webmaster tools.\|last = Enge\|first = Eric\|date = August 28, 2014\|access-date = April 12, 2015\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}
2014	September 23 (rollout begins), September 25 (announcement)	Search algorithm update	Google announces that a significant update to Google Panda is rolling out over the next few weeks. The update is dubbed Panda 4.1.{{cite web\|url=https://plus.google.com/+PierreFar/posts/7CWs3a3yoeY\|title = Panda update rolling out\|date = September 25, 2014\|access-date = April 12, 2015\|publisher = Google Plus}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/panda-update-rolling-204313\|title = Panda 4.1 — Google's 27th Panda Update — Is Rolling Out\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|author-link = Danny Sullivan\|date = September 25, 2014\|access-date = April 12, 2015\|publisher = Search Engine Land}} An analysis reveals that the update was heavy on attacking affiliate marketing, keyword stuffing, security warnings, and deception.{{cite web\|url=http://www.hmtweb.com/marketing-blog/panda-4-1-analysis/\|title = Panda 4.1 Analysis and Findings – Affiliate Marketing, Keyword Stuffing, Security Warnings, and Deception Prevalent\|last = Gabe\|first = Glenn\|date = September 29, 2014\|access-date = April 12, 2015}}{{cite web\|url=http://moz.com/blog/panda-41-google-leaked-dos-and-donts-whiteboard-friday\|title = Panda 4.1 Google Leaked Dos and Don'ts - Whiteboard Friday\|last = Bachynski\|first = Josh\|date = December 5, 2014\|access-date = April 12, 2015\|publisher = Moz}}
2014	October 17	Search algorithm update	Penguin 3.0 is implemented as a refresh to re-evaluate sites demoted in the last update due to webspam tactics and demote sites using black hat SEO tactics. This refresh is rolled out globally over several weeks impacting roughly 1% of English-language queries.{{cite web\|url=http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/239162 \|title=What You Need to Know About Google's Penguin 3.0\|last = Dholakiya\|first = Pratik\|date=31 October 2014 \|author-link = Pratik Dholakiya \|publisher=www.entrepreneur.com \|access-date=December 1, 2014}}
2014	October 21	Search algorithm update	Pirate 2.0 update dubbed by SEO commentators following the similar update in 2012 which penalized sites deemed as violators of copyright laws. This refresh targets a relatively small number of known sites causing dramatic drops in ranking. In tandem with this Google introduces a new Ad Format for queries where people may be searching for copyrighted media, requiring publishers to purchase ads to promote original content over the unauthorized copies.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-pirate-update-206124 \|title=After More Than Two Years, Google Finally Releasing New "Pirate Update" To Fight Piracy\|last = Sullivan\|first = Danny\|date=17 October 2014 \|publisher=www.searchengineland.com \|access-date=December 1, 2014}}{{cite web\|url=http://blog.searchmetrics.com/us/2014/10/26/google-pirate-update-analysis-and-loser-list/\|title = Google Pirate Update Analysis and Loser List\|publisher = SearchmMetrics\|date = October 26, 2014\|access-date = April 12, 2015}}{{cite web\|url=http://torrentfreak.com/googles-new-downranking-hits-pirate-sites-hard-141023/\|title = Google's New Search Downranking Hits Torrent Sites Hard\|author = Ernesto\|date = October 23, 2014\|access-date = April 12, 2015}}
2014	December 10	Search algorithm update	Google announces that Google Penguin will switch to continuous updates, also known as "Penguin Everflux".{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-says-penguin-shift-continuous-updates-210580\|title = Google Says Penguin To Shift To "Continuous Updates". Google To Continuously "Optimize" The Penguin Algorithm As It Goes\|publisher = Search Engine Land\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|date = December 10, 2014\|access-date = April 12, 2015}}
2014	December 22	Search algorithm update	Google Pigeon, the local search algorithm update, is rolled out to the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-pigeon-update-rolls-uk-canada-australia-211576\|title = Google Pigeon Update Rolls Out To UK, Canada & Australia. Google's new local ranking algorithm that launched in the US earlier this year has rolled out to the UK, Canada and Australia.\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|date = December 22, 2014\|access-date = April 12, 2015}}
2015	February 4	Search algorithm update	Many independent sources report significant fluctuations in Google Search results, but Google does not officially confirm any changes.{{cite web\|url=https://www.seroundtable.com/google-algorithm-update-19820.html\|title = Significant Google Search Algorithm Update Yesterday\|last = Schwartz\|first= Barry\|publisher = Search Engine Roundtable\|date = February 5, 2015\|access-date = April 12, 2015}}
2015	April 21 (pre-announced February 26)	User experience, search algorithm update (mobile usability)	On January 19, 2015, Google sends emails to webmasters about mobile usability issues on the websites, leading people to speculate that a major mobile usability update for search rankings is underway.{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-sending-mobile-usability-warnings-huge-number-webmasters-213113\|title = Google Sending Mobile Usability Warnings To Huge Number Of Webmasters. Google sending notifications to webmasters with sites that are not mobile friendly. Is this a sign of a new mobile algorithm coming soon?\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|date = January 19, 2015\|access-date = April 12, 2015\|publisher = Search Engine Land}} On February 26, 2015, Google announces that demotion of mobile-unfriendly sites for searches on mobile devices will commence on April 21, 2015.{{cite web\|url=http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2015/02/finding-more-mobile-friendly-search.html\|title = Finding more mobile-friendly search results\|date = February 26, 2015\|access-date = April 12, 2015\|publisher = Google Webmaster Central\|last1 = Makino\|first1 = Takaki\|last2 = Jung\| first2 = Chaesang \| last3 = Phan \| first3 = Doantam}}{{cite web\|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-search-algorithm-adds-mobile-friendly-factors-app-indexing-ranking-215573\|title = New Google "Mobile Friendly" Algorithm To Reward Sites Beginning April 21. Google's mobile ranking algorithm will officially include mobile-friendly usability factors and app indexing. Making sure your site is mobile-friendly is now more important than ever.\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|date = February 26, 2015\|access-date = April 12, 2015\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}{{cite web\|url=http://www.rimmkaufman.com/blog/googles-mobile-algorithm-update-coming-april-21st-prepared/10042015/\|title = Google's Mobile Algorithm Update is Coming April 21. Are you Prepared?\|last1 = O'Donnell\|first1 = Jody\|last2 = Scott\|first2 = Laura\|date = April 10, 2015\|access-date = April 12, 2015\|publisher = RKGBlog}}
2015	May 3	Search algorithm update	Google says it has made a core algorithm change impacting "quality signals". Before the official announcement, commentators had dubbed the changes as "Phantom 2".
2015	July 17	Search algorithm update	Google announces an update to Google Panda, dubbed as Panda 4.2 by commentators. Google says that the change affects between 2% and 3% of search queries. Search engine commentators do not notice any sharp changes to search traffic, and expect the changes to be rolled in gradually.{{cite web\|url = http://www.thesempost.com/google-panda-update-everything-we-know-about-panda-4-2/\|title = Google Panda Update: Everything We Know About Panda 4.2\|publisher = The SEM Post\|date = July 17, 2015\|access-date = September 12, 2016\|last = Slegg\|first = Jennifer}}{{cite web\|url = http://searchengineland.com/google-panda-4-2-is-here-slowly-rolling-out-after-waiting-almost-10-months-225850\|title = Google Panda 4.2 Is Here; Slowly Rolling Out After Waiting Almost 10 Months. Google says a Panda refresh began this weekend but will take months to fully roll out.\|date = July 17, 2015\|access-date = September 12, 2016\|publisher = Search Engine Land\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry}} By September, it appears that many websites that had seen gains due to Panda 4.2 are seeing those gains reversed.{{cite web\|url = https://www.seroundtable.com/google-panda-42-reversed-20837.html\|title = Did Google Reverse The Panda 4.2 Update?\|date = September 1, 2015\|access-date = September 12, 2016}}
2015	October 26	Search algorithm update (announcement/confirmation)	Google announces that RankBrain, a machine learning-based engine (using neural networks), has been the third most influential factor in its search rankings for the last few months. The actual rollout date is not confirmed, but commentators pin the launch time to Spring 2015. It is most useful for new search queries, that account for about 15% of search queries.{{cite web\|url = https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-26/google-turning-its-lucrative-web-search-over-to-ai-machines\|title = Google Turning Its Lucrative Web Search Over to AI Machines\|publisher = Bloomberg News\|date = October 26, 2015\|access-date = September 12, 2016\|last = Clark\|first = Jack}}{{cite web\|url = https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/04/artificial-intelligence-is-changing-seo-faster-than-you-think/\|title = Artificial intelligence is changing SEO faster than you think\|last = Rampton\|first = John\|date = June 4, 2016\|access-date = September 12, 2016}}
2016	February 3	Team	Amit Singhal steps down from his position as Vice President of Search at Google after 15 years in that role. He is replaced by John Giannandrea who works in artificial intelligence at Alphabet, Google's parent company.{{cite web\|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/04/technology/amit-singhal-an-influential-engineer-at-google-will-retire.html\|title = Amit Singhal, an Influential Engineer at Google, Will Retire\|last = Hardy\|first = Quentin\| website=The New York Times \|date = February 3, 2016\|access-date = September 12, 2016}}{{cite web\|url = http://searchengineland.com/amit-singhal-the-head-of-google-search-to-leave-the-company-for-philanthropic-purposes-241707\|title = Amit Singhal, The Head Of Google Search, To Leave The Company For Philanthropic Purposes. After 15 years, Google's head of search, Amit Singhal, is leaving the company.\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|publisher = Search Engine Land\|date = February 3, 2016\|access-date = September 12, 2016}}
2016	February 18 and 23	Advertising	Google makes changes to Google AdWords, removing right-column ads and rolling out 4-ad top blocks on searches with commercial intent. The change has implications on organic search CTRs for such searches, since it pushes the organic search results further down the page, potentially reducing organic search CTRs.{{cite web\|url = http://searchengineland.com/googles-new-serp-layout-4-biggest-winners-losers-based-data-243292\|title = Google's New SERP Layout: The Biggest Winners & Losers. What has been the impact of Google's new desktop ad layout thus far? Columnist Larry Kim uses data to show who has benefited and who has suffered from the change.\|last = Kim\|first = Larry\|date = February 24, 2016\|access-date = September 12, 2016\|publisher = Search Engine Land}} Up to three additional ads may be shown below the 10 organic search results, and additional ads may be shown on the second page.{{cite web\|url = https://moz.com/blog/four-ads-on-top-the-wait-is-over\|title = Four Ads on Top: The Wait Is Over\|last = Meyers\|first = Peter J.\|date = February 19, 2016\|access-date = September 12, 2016}}{{cite web\|url = http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/22/google-kills-off-right-side-ads\|title = Google Kills Off Side Ads: What You Need to Know\|last = Kim\|first = Larry\|date = February 23, 2016\|access-date = September 12, 2016\|publisher = WordStream}}{{Cite web\|url = http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/03/10/takeaways-from-serp-change\|title = 3 Weeks After Google Killed Side Ads, Here Are 5 More Takeaways\|last = Sagin\|first = Erin\|date = March 10, 2016\|access-date = September 13, 2016\|publisher = WordStream}}
2016	May 12 (announced March 16)	User experience, search algorithm update (mobile usability)	Google rolls out a ranking signal boost to benefit mobile-friendly websites on mobile devices. This is the second update of this sort, with the previous update in April 2015.{{cite web\|url = https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2016/03/continuing-to-make-web-more-mobile.html\|title = Continuing to make the web more mobile friendly\|publisher = Google Webmaster Central Blog\|date = March 16, 2016\|access-date = September 12, 2016}}{{cite web\|url = http://searchengineland.com/googles-mobile-friendly-algorithm-boost-rolled-249357\|title = Google's mobile-friendly algorithm boost has rolled out. The new Google mobile-friendly algorithm is supposed to give an additional ranking boost for mobile-friendly websites in the mobile search results.\|last = Schwartz\|first = Barry\|date = May 12, 2016\|access-date = September 12, 2016\|publisher = Search Engine Land}}
2016 \|September 27 (announced September 23) \|Penguin 4.0 \|After almost two years of waiting, Google finally announced a major Penguin update. They suggested the new Penguin is now real-time and baked into the "core" algorithm. The rollout of the new, "gentler" Penguin algorithm, which devalues bad links instead of penalizing sites.
2017 \|January 10 \|Intrusive Interstitial Penalty \|Google started rolling out a penalty to punish aggressive interstitials and pop-ups that might damage the mobile user experience. Google also provided a rare warning of this update five months in advance.
2018 \|March 8 \|Core Update "Brackets" \|Google Made a core update into their algorithm this updated was termed as "Brackets" by Glenn Gabe. This update effected the search ranks to improve it further.
2019 \|December 9 \|BERT - Update \|In October Google updated its algorithm to support BERT - NLP model. This update helps google to improve the interpretation of natural languages. In December Google extended the BERT update internationally into 70 languages. They confirmed that this algorithm update was rolled out to 70 languages
2021 \|November 30 (rollout begins) - December 8 \|Vicinity Update \|The Vicinity Update is the biggest update to local SERPs since 2017. This algorithm update made it so that smaller businesses that are closer to the searcher will show up as a search result, rather than only the dominant, larger businesses that are farther away.
2022 \|May 25 (rollout begins) - June 9 \|May 2022 Core Update \|The May 2022 Core Update was shown to negatively affect the rankings for most news and media publishers, especially generalist news sites that cover a variety of topics. Reference sites like dictionaries, unofficial Wikis, lyric websites, and stock photo sites also saw a drop in rankings, while video site like YouTube, TikTok, Disney+, Hulu, and Twitch saw the largest gains in ranking.{{Cite web \|date=May 25, 2022 \|title=May 2022 core update releasing for Google Search \|url=https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/05/may-2022-core-update \|url-status=live \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716022247/https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/05/may-2022-core-update \|archive-date=July 16, 2022 \|access-date=July 15, 2022 \|website=Google Search Central}}{{Cite news \|last=Larkin \|first=Kayle \|date=July 11, 2022 \|title=Google's May 2022 Core Update: What's the Impact So Far? \|work=searchenginejournal.com \|url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-may-core-update-impact/456886/ \|access-date=July 15, 2022}}
2022 \|Aug 25 \|Helpful Content Update \|The August 2022 Helpful Content update completed its rollout on September 9. The target of the update was, “content that seems to have been primarily created for ranking well in search engines rather than to help or inform people."{{Cite web \|last=Schwartz \|first=Barry \|date=2022-09-09 \|title=Google helpful content update is now done rolling out \|url=https://searchengineland.com/google-helpful-content-update-is-now-done-rolling-out-387832 \|access-date=2023-10-20 \|website=Search Engine Land \|language=en}}
2022 \|Sep 12 \|September 2022 Core Update{{Cite web \|title=Google Search's Core Updates {{!}} Google Search Central {{!}} What's new \|url=https://developers.google.com/search/updates/core-updates \|access-date=2023-10-20 \|website=Google for Developers \|language=en}} \|The update took 14 days.{{Cite web \|title=Google Search Status Dashboard \|url=https://status.search.google.com/incidents/Y2Cg5k2xLJvfNqR58kEt \|access-date=2023-10-20 \|website=status.search.google.com}} Volatility was lower than many prior similar updates.{{Cite web \|title=September 2022 Core Update Impact \|url=https://www.semrush.com/blog/september-2022-core-update-impact/ \|access-date=2023-10-20 \|website=Semrush Blog \|language=en}}
2022 \|Dec 5 \|December 2022 Helpful Content Update \|The update took 38 days to roll out.{{Cite web \|title=Google Search Status Dashboard \|url=https://status.search.google.com/incidents/XMdX5PmbMvKW4fv3CRvn \|access-date=2023-10-20 \|website=status.search.google.com}} It reportedly improves Google's classifier, and works across all content and all languages.
2023 \|Mar 15 \|March 2023 Core Update \|The March 2023 Core Update caused a larger spike in volatility that the September Update. According to Semrush, the largest impacted sectors were Shopping and A&E.
2023 \|Aug 22 \|August 2023 Core Update \|The update took 16 days to roll out.{{Cite web \|title=Google Search Status Dashboard \|url=https://status.search.google.com/incidents/nBtYtBeex4GYBbdDS2LX \|access-date=2023-10-20 \|website=status.search.google.com}} The biggest gains seemed to be felt by UGC and Reddit, as well as gains from site showing evidence of experience in the subject.{{Cite web \|last=Ray \|first=Lily \|date=2023-09-12 \|title=Google August 2023 Core Update: Winners, Losers & Analysis \|url=https://www.amsive.com/insights/seo/google-august-2023-core-update-winners-losers-analysis/ \|access-date=2023-10-20 \|website=Amsive \|language=en-US}}
2023 \|Sep 14 \|September 2023 Helpful Content Update \|This update contained important changes to how sites are ranked including demoting third-party content hosted on sub-domains, and loosening the guidelines around AI-generated content being devalued.{{Cite web \|last=Montti \|first=Roger \|date=2023-09-14 \|title=Google September 2023 Helpful Content Update - Changes To The Algorithm \|url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-september-2023-helpful-content-update-changes-to-the-algorithm/496454/ \|access-date=2023-10-20 \|website=Search Engine Journal \|language=en}}
2023 \|Oct 4 \|October 2023 Spam Update \|Enhanced coverage for more languages and additional types of spam.{{Cite web \|title=Google Search Status Dashboard \|url=https://status.search.google.com/incidents/NzcEhGMDhbQEdXCS35xL \|access-date=2023-10-20 \|website=status.search.google.com}}
2023 \|Oct 5 \|October 2023 Core Update \|The rollout took 14 days. There was high volatility reported by many of the SEO ranking tools.{{Cite web \|last=Schwartz \|first=Barry \|date=2023-10-19 \|title=Google October 2023 Core Update rollout is now complete \|url=https://searchengineland.com/google-october-2023-core-update-rollout-is-now-complete-433191 \|access-date=2023-10-20 \|website=Search Engine Land \|language=en}}
2023 \|Nov 2 \|November 2023 Core Update \|The second core update in as many months is a rare occurrence.{{Cite web \|title=Google Search Status Dashboard \|url=https://status.search.google.com/incidents/WtY1CQgfqrr2cjxKbyUk \|access-date=2023-11-02 \|website=status.search.google.com}}
2024 \|Mar 5 \|March 2024 Core Update \|This update combines Helpful Content Updates in with the core update and includes efforts against scaled content abuse, site reputation abuse and expired domain abuse.{{Cite web \|date=2024-03-05 \|title=New ways we're tackling spammy, low-quality content on Search \|url=https://blog.google/products/search/google-search-update-march-2024/ \|access-date=2024-03-12 \|website=Google \|language=en-us}}
2024 \|August 15 \|August 2024 Core Update \|This update rolled out over 19 days. {{Cite web \|title=Google Search Status Dashboard \|url=https://status.search.google.com/incidents/gVx6b2o78zke7GrMidGy \|access-date=2025-03-17 \|website=status.search.google.com}}
2024 \|November 11 \|November 2024 Core Update \|This update rolled out over 23 days.{{Cite web \|title=Google Search Status Dashboard \|url=https://status.search.google.com/incidents/G7rp11wqTaTGn6JjiPF3 \|access-date=2025-03-17 \|website=status.search.google.com}}
2024 \|December 12 \|December 2024 Core Update \|This update rolled out over 6 days.{{Cite web \|title=Google Search Status Dashboard \|url=https://status.search.google.com/incidents/G7rp11wqTaTGn6JjiPF3 \|access-date=2025-03-17 \|website=status.search.google.com}}
2025 \|March 13 \|March 2025 Core Update \|This update is estimated to take up to two weeks to complete.

References

Category:Google Search

Google Search

Category:History of Google

Timeline of Google Search#Full timeline

Big picture

Full timeline

See also

References