Google’s search algorithm is like a librarian in a massive, ever-growing library. But instead of pulling books off the shelf at random, this librarian carefully analyses each book’s content, relevance, and credibility to find the exact match you’re looking for based on an ever-evolving list of criteria.
The algorithm is constantly learning and adapting, so it needs to undergo regular updates to adapt to changing user behaviour, combat spam, and improve the user experience. Staying on top of these updates is crucial for maintaining your search engine rankings and ensuring your site stays visible.
Over the years, this has meant making various changes to keep up, and we’ve taken a walk down memory lane to look at the search engine giant’s algorithmic updates, ending with the most recent one in November 2024.
The foundations of Google Search
1998 – The Birth of PageRank
Google introduced PageRank, the foundation of its search algorithm. This system evaluated the importance of web pages based on the quality and quantity of links pointing to them. This set Google apart from its competitors and marked the beginning of its dominance in search.
2003 – Florida Update
The Florida Update was one of Google’s first major algorithm changes and one of its most catastrophic. It targeted keyword stuffing and other black-hat SEO tactics that manipulated search rankings, setting the stage for a cleaner search environment. However, it also affected many innocent sites that lost their rankings overnight, putting many small retailers and affiliates out of business.
The rise of user-centric search
2011 – Panda Update
The Panda update was a turning point in prioritising user experience. It targeted low-quality content, thin pages, and content farms, reducing their visibility in search results. Conversely, websites with high-quality, informative content were rewarded with higher rankings.
2012 – Penguin Update
The Penguin update tackled spammy link-building practices, including buying links and participating in link schemes. It emphasised the importance of earning natural, high-quality backlinks.
2013 – Hummingbird Update
Hummingbird marked a shift towards semantic search, which allowed Google to understand the intent behind queries rather than focusing solely on exact keywords. This laid the groundwork for advancements in conversational and voice search.
Mobile optimisation and user experience
2015 – Mobilegeddon
Due to the rise in mobile searches, Google started to prioritise mobile-friendly websites. Websites that were not optimised for mobile saw a drop in rankings, making responsive design a critical element of SEO.
2018 – Medic Update
This update targeted websites in the health and wellness niche, emphasising E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). In late 2022, Google added an extra E for Experience to E-A-T, reinforcing their stance on useful content. The Medic update highlighted the importance of accurate, reliable content, particularly for YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) topics.
Entering the era of AI and machine learning
2015 – RankBrain
The AI-powered Rankbrain revolutionised Google’s ability to interpret complex queries. Learning from user behaviour delivered more relevant results, especially for the 15% of daily queries that were entirely new.
2019 – BERT Update
BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) improved Google’s understanding of context in search queries. This update made it better at interpreting natural language, benefiting the newly-emerged voice search and long-tail queries.
Fighting spam and ensuring integrity
2021 – Spam Updates
Google rolled out a series of spam updates targeting phishing, misleading content, and malicious practices. These updates reinforced the need for ethical SEO and secure websites.
2022 – Helpful Content Update
The Helpful Content Update prioritised content created for users rather than search engines. It penalised clickbait and low-value content while rewarding the sites offering genuine insights and solutions.
Enhancing core web vitals
2020- 2024 – Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals updates all use metrics to measure user experience, focusing on page load speed, interactivity, and visual stability. These factors have become an integral part of Google’s ranking criteria as they push websites to improve their performance and usability.
2023 – Enhanced Page Experience Update
Building on Core Web Vitals, this update incorporated additional user experience signals, such as accessibility and secure browsing, into its ranking algorithm.
The November 2024 update
One of Google’s most significant algorithm changes in recent years, the November update kicked off on 11 November and took 24 days to complete. While Google hasn’t disclosed all the specifics, several key themes have emerged, and all of them focus on making search results more relevant and helpful:
AI Integration: The update leverages advancements in AI to understand user intent better, making search results more precise and contextually relevant.
Real-Time Indexing: Websites can now see their updates reflected in search results much faster, emphasising the importance of maintaining fresh, updated content.
Multimodal Search: Building on the success of Google Lens, this update enhances the ability to process and integrate text, image, and video inputs within a single query.
Improved Spam Detection: AI-driven tools have been fine-tuned to identify and demote spammy or low-value content effectively.
Initial reports suggest that websites with a strong focus on high-quality, user-centric content have experienced ranking boosts and sites with outdated, duplicate, or thin content have seen declines. Sites with enhanced visuals, such as optimised images and videos, have also gained more prominence in search results.
Final thoughts
Google’s algorithm updates reflect the search engines’ continual commitment to delivering the best possible user experience. From the foundational PageRank system to today’s advanced AI-driven updates, each change has played an integral role in how websites approach SEO.
If you want to keep your SEO strategy in line with Google’s algorithm updates but aren’t sure how we can help! Simply fill in the free audit form, and we’ll get your SEO journey on the right track.
