Google Update: A Five-Year History of Major Changes to Google Search

As the leading search engine, Google processes billions of queries each day. To enhance user satisfaction during searches, the company utilizes a multitude of algorithms designed to deliver relevant and consistent results. This necessity drives the regular updates to these algorithms, with numerous enhancements made annually.

This article outlines the most significant Google updates from the past five years.

What Purpose Do Major Google Search Updates Serve?

The significant algorithm and search system updates from Google occur several times throughout the year.

These updates primarily aim to provide users with more reliable and relevant search results, thereby enhancing the overall quality of search outcomes and improving user experience.

Importantly, these Google Updates do not target specific websites or pages but instead focus on how content is assessed through Google’s systems.

Business owners, marketing directors, and SEO professionals must stay informed about these major updates.

By impacting website evaluations, these updates can significantly alter a site’s ranking in Google’s search results, which directly influences its visibility.

What Were the Major Google Updates in 2024?

As the digital landscape, especially in SEO, continues to evolve, 2024 has seen its share of Google updates.

To maintain its effectiveness, Google’s search engine has implemented several crucial updates since the beginning of the year.

Spam Update – June 2024

The latest major update was rolled out on June 20, 2024, lasting for a duration of seven days.

This spam update focuses on all websites that violate Google’s anti-spam policies.

Examples of spam forms targeted by this update include:

• Poor-quality duplicate content;
• Hidden redirects;
• Automatically generated content intended to manipulate site rankings;
• Purchased or sold links aimed at ranking manipulation.

While fluctuations in SERPs are expected as a result of this update, compliant sites stand to gain from it.

The update penalizes sites relying on AI-generated content that fail to align with Google’s spam policies, thereby promoting high-value and original content.

Core Update – March 2024

Launched on March 5, 2024, this Core Update was deployed over a 45-day period.

It emphasized the penalization of low-quality and non-original content.

This update resulted in a significant reduction of such content by 45%, reflecting Google’s commitment to providing users with trustworthy and valuable information.

Analyzing the Key Google Updates of 2023

The primary updates of Google’s search engine in 2023 significantly influenced how websites are evaluated and how rankings are established.

November 2023 Ratings Update

This update, which lasted for 29 days, involved the Google evaluation system.

It specifically targeted pages that publish product and service reviews, affecting a wide range of languages.

Core Update – November 2023

Deployed on November 2, 2023, this update ran for 25 days.

Changes introduced aimed at enhancing the relevance and quality of the results delivered.

Reflections on Google Updates from 2022

In 2022, alongside the Core updates, Google executed numerous updates focusing on useful content, spam management, and product reviews.

Core Update 2022

Implemented in May and September, these updates sought to refine the relevance of search results.

Product Reviews Updates 2022

Conducted in March, July, and September, these updates aimed at enhancing the reliability and relevance of product-related pages.

Conclusion

To ensure a quality user experience, Google’s algorithm is in a constant state of evolution.

With dozens of updates rolled out each year, these changes can impact your content and link-building strategies, ultimately affecting your site’s ranking.

It’s critical to stay informed about upcoming changes to leverage them effectively. Google will transition fully to « mobile-first » indexing starting July 5, 2024. Therefore, ensuring quality remains at the forefront of your digital strategy is essential to avoid penalties from future updates.