History of Google Algorithm Updates

Below we have compiled a full list of Google algorithm launches, updates, and refreshes that have rolled out over the years, as well as links to resources for SEO professionals who want to understand each of these changes.

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History of Google Algorithm Updates
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What are Google Algorithms?

Google’s algorithms are a complex system used to retrieve data from its search index and instantly deliver the best possible results for a query. The search engine uses a combination of algorithms and numerous ranking factors to deliver webpages ranked by relevance on its search engine results pages (SERPs).

In its early years, Google only made a handful of updates to its algorithms. Now, Google makes thousands of changes every year.

Most of these updates are so slight that they go completely unnoticed. However, on occasion, the search engine rolls out major algorithmic updates that significantly impact the SERPs such as:

Below, we have compiled a comprehensive list of Google algorithm updates sorted by their release dates.

Updated:

All Updates
December 19, 2024

December 2024 Spam Update

Google launches its December spam update, set to finish within a week, marking the end of a year filled with strong anti-spam efforts.

Read:

Google Launches (Final?) Spam Update Of The Year

December 19, 2024

December 2024 Spam Update

The December 2024 spam update was started on December 19 and is expected to be completed in one week.

Read:

Google Launches (Final?) Spam Update Of The Year

December 12, 2024

December 2024 Core Update

The December 2024 core update started on December 12 and finished rolling out on December 18.

Read:

Google Confirms December 2024 Core Update Is Complete

November 19, 2024

Site Reputation Abuse (SRA)

Google has updated its site reputation abuse policy, introduced earlier this year, to tackle ‘parasite SEO’—a tactic where websites use established domains to manipulate search rankings through third-party content. While enforcement is currently handled manually, Google plans to introduce algorithmic updates to automate detection and demotion in the future.

Read:

Google Site Reputation Abuse Penalties Hit Major Publishers

Google's Core Update: Publishers Fall as Reddit Rises

November 11, 2024

November 2024 Core Update

Google’s November 2024 core update began on November 11 and concluded on December 5, taking three weeks to complete.

Read:

Google Rolls Out November 2024 Core Algorithm Update

Google November Core Update: 6 Insights From Millions of Queries

November 11, 2024

November 2024 Core Update

Google released the November 2024 core update on November 11. The rollout may take up to two weeks to complete.

Read:

Google Rolls Out November 2024 Core Algorithm Update

August 15, 2024

August 2024 Core Update

Google’s August 2024 core update aims to promote high-quality content while demoting low-value SEO content. The update started rolling out on August 15. The rollout was complete as of September 3, 2024.

Read:

Google Rolls Out August 2024 Core Update

Google’s Mueller On August Core Update vs. Ranking Bug Effects

Google Confirms AI Overviews Affected By Core Updates

Google’s August Core Update Rollout Completed

Google’s Guidance About The Recent Ranking Update

July 31, 2024

Explicit Fake Content Update

Update to Google’s search algorithm to address non-consensual explicit content, specifically targeting artificially generated images and videos known as ‘deepfakes.’

Read:

Google Search Algorithm Update Targeting Explicit Deepfakes

June 20, 2024

June 2024 Spam Update

Google has started implementing the June 2024 spam update, which is expected to take a week to finish.

Read:

Google Launches June 2024 Spam Update

Google Completes June 2024 Spam Update Rollout

May 14, 2024

AI Overviews

Google introduces AI-generated summaries (previously known as SGE) to U.S. search results, utilizing the new Gemini model designed specifically for search.

Read:

Google Rolls Out AI-Powered Overviews To US Search Results

Google’s AI Overviews Documentation: Key SEO Insights

Google Search Expands AI Overviews Globally

May 6, 2024

Site Reputation Abuse

Google’s SearchLiaison confirmed that Google’s site reputation abuse update started on Monday May 6th with manual actions to be followed as some point in the future with algorithmic ones.

Read:

Google: Site Reputation Abuse Manual Actions

Big Brands Apparently Receive Site Abuse Manual Actions

November 8, 2023

November 2023 Reviews Update

Google announced an algorithm update targeting review content on a page-level basis. It began on November 8 and completed on December 7.

Read:

Google Rolls Out November 2023 Reviews Update

Google Reviews Update Finished – What To Know

November 2, 2023

November 2023 Core Update

Google announced a core algorithm update, which began on November 2 and was completed on November 28. To learn more about core updates, see the Google Search Central Blog.

Read:

Google Rolls Out November 2023 Core Update

October 5, 2023

October 2023 Core Update

Google announced a core algorithm update, which began on October 5 and was completed on October 19. To learn more about core updates, see the Google Search Central Blog.

Read:

Google Launches October 2023 Core Algorithm Update

Google’s October 2023 Core Update Now Complete

Google Fixes Discover Traffic Bug Caused By October Core Update

October 4, 2023

October 2023 Spam Update

Google announced the launch of the October 2023 Spam Update, which began on October 4 and was completed on October 19. This update applies globally and improves coverage in many languages,

Read:

Google Rolls Out October 2023 Spam Update

Google’s Webspam Report Explains Role Of SpamBrain

Google Completes Rollout of October 2023 Spam Update

September 14, 2023

September 2023 Helpful Content Update

Google announced the launch of the September 2023 Helpful Content Update, which began on September 14 and was completed on September 28. Site owners who want to learn more about helpful content updates can find more information on the Google Search Central Blog.

Read:

Google September 2023 Helpful Content Update – Changes To The Algorithm

Google Concludes Rollout Of September 2023 Helpful Content Update

Google’s Mueller Outlines Path To Recovery For Sites Hit By Core Update

August 22, 2023

August 2023 Core Update

Google announced a core algorithm update, which began on August 22 and concluded on September 7. To learn more about core updates, see the Google Search Central Blog.

Read:

Google Launches August 2023 Core Update

April 12, 2023

April 2023 Reviews Update

Google announced an algorithm update targeting review content on a page-level basis. It began on April 12 and finished rolling out on April 25. To learn more about core updates, see the Google Search Central Blog.

Read:

Google April 2023 Reviews Update Focuses Heavily On Experience

March 15, 2023

March 2023 Core Update

Google announced a core algorithm update, which began on March 15 and finished rolling out on March 28. To learn more about core updates, see the Google Search Central Blog.

Read:

Google Rolls Out March 2023 Core Algorithm Update

February 21, 2023

February 2023 Product Reviews Update

Google announced the launch of the February 2023 Product Reviews Update, which began on February 21 and was completed on March 18. The update applies to these languages globally: English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Russian, Dutch, Portuguese, and Polish. See the Google Search Central Blog to learn more about the product review system.

Read:

Google February 2023 Product Reviews Update

Google Clarifies Product Review Best Practices

Analyzing The Google February 2023 Product Review Update

December 14, 2022

December 2022 Link Spam Update

Google announced the launch of the December 2022 Link Spam Update, which began on December 14 and was completed on January 12. With this update, Google is leveraging the power of “SpamBrain” to neutralize the impact of unnatural links on search results. To learn more about SpamBrain, see the Google Search Central Blog.

Read:

Google December 2022 Link Spam Update Rolling Out Now

Four Takeaways from Google’s Updated Link Guidance

December 5, 2022

December 2022 Helpful Content Update

Google announced the launch of the December 2022 Helpful Content Update, which began on December 5 and was completed on January 12. Site owners who want to learn more about helpful content updates can find more information on the Google Search Central Blog.

Read:

Google Announces December 2022 Helpful Content Update

Google Updates Guidance On Helpful Content System

October 19, 2022

October 2022 Spam Update

Google announced a spam update, which began rolling out on October 19 and was completed on October 21. Site owners who want to learn more about spam updates can find more information on the Google Search Central Blog.

Read:

Google Announces October 2022 Spam Update

September 20, 2022

Product Review Algorithm Update

Google confirmed the rollout of a new product review algorithm update on September 20 and was completed on September 26. Although they did not offer advice for site owners for this particular update, they shared a post on product review updates in 2021 for more information.

Read:

Google September 2022 Product Review Algorithm Update Rolling Out Now

Google Core & Product Review Updates Finish Rolling Out

September 12, 2022

Core Algorithm Update

Google announced a core algorithm update, which began rolling out on September 12 and was completed on September 26. Site owners who want to learn more about core updates can find more information on the Google Search Central Blog.

Read:

Google Announces September 2022 Core Algorithm Update

Google Core & Product Review Updates Finish Rolling Out

August 25, 2022

Helpful Content Update

Google announced the launch of the Helpful Content Update, which began on August 25th. Content creators can learn more about how to create content for people first on the Search Central blog.

Read:

Google ‘Helpful Content’ Algorithm Update Launching Soon

Google’s Helpful Content Update Rolls Out: 7 Things To Know

Google research paper describes an algorithm that detects low quality pages

July 27, 2022

July 2022 Product Reviews Update

Google announced the release of the July 2022 Product Reviews Update on July 27th, which was completed on August 2nd. Ecommerce marketers can refer to Google Search Central’s documentation on how to write high-quality product reviews for more information.

Read:

Google July 2022 Product Review Algorithm Update Rolling Out Now

May 22, 2022

May 2022 Core Update

Google announced via Twitter the release of a broad core update, named the May 2022 Core Update. This is part of a series of updates Google makes to the overall ranking process throughout the year. This update began on May 22, 2022, and was completed on June 9, 2022.

Read:

Google Launching May 2022 Broad Core Algorithm Update

Google May 2022 Core Update Complete

March 23, 2022

March 2022 Product Algorithm Update

Google announced via the Search Central Blog an update to product review rankings that would enable them to identify high-quality reviews.  The update should take a few weeks to complete.

You can learn more about the quest to provide better product reviews to search users on The Keyword and get Google’s advice on how to write high-quality product reviews.

Read:

New Google Algorithm Update Aimed At Product Reviews

February 22, 2022

Page Experience Update

Google announced via Twitter that the page experience update is slowly rolling out for desktop search, expected to be completed in March 2022. Google offers developers more information about the page experience update on Google Search Central.

Read:

Google Page Experience Update Starts Rolling Out On Desktop

Google Page Experience Update – Desktop Rollout Complete

December 1, 2021

December 2021 Product Review Update

Google announced via the Google Search Central Twitter account that the December 2021 Product Review Update began rolling out for English language pages today, and is estimated to take three weeks to complete. They shared a link to a blog post on product review updates and your website for more information.

Read:

Google December 2021 Product Review Update

November 30, 2021

November 2021 Local Search Update

Google announced via Twitter a November 2021 Local Search Update that began on November 30th and was completed on December 8th. Google also suggested that businesses review their guidance on how to improve local rankings.

Read:

Google Confirms Update To Local Search Results

November 17, 2021

Broad Core Update

Google Search Central announced via Twitter that a broad core update would be released later that day. They referred webmasters to their documentation on what site owners need to know about core updates, last updated in August 2019.

Read:

Google Launching November 2021 Broad Core Algorithm Update

Google November Core Update Is Over – What Happened?

November 3, 2021

Google Spam Update

According to a tweet from Google Search Liasion, a spam update was rolled out from November 3 – 11, 2021 as a part of their regular work to improve search results. They suggested in their announcement that webmasters should continue following Webmaster Guidelines.

Read:

Google Spam Update Done Rolling Out

July 26, 2021

Google Link Spam Algorithm Update

Google announced an algorithm update aimed at identifying and nullifying link spam was beginning to roll out. Google warned that any sites taking part in link spam tactics could see ranking changes – with sponsored, guest, and affiliate content most likely to be impacted. Google said the update should be fully rolled out in “at least” two weeks and will impact multiple languages.

Read:

Google Link Spam Algorithm Update Rolling Out on July 26

Google’s Link Spam Update Is Complete

July 12, 2021

July 2021 Core Update Completed

Google Search Liaison confirmed via Twitter that the July 2021 Core Update rollout was effectively completed on July 12th. No additional details were provided.

Read:

Google July 2021 Update is Over – What Happened?

July 1, 2021

July 2021 Core Update

Google Search Liaison announced via Twitter the July 2021 Core Update is rolling out and will take one to two weeks to complete. Google’s guidance for core updates can be found on the Google Search Central Blog.

Read:

Google July 2021 Core Update Begins Rolling Out

June 28, 2021

Spam Update Part 2

Google Search Liaison announced via Twitter that the second part of their spam update has begun on June 28th and will likely be completed on the same day. The original announcement referred to a post on the Google Search Central Blog, updated in April 2021, on how Google fought Search spam in 2020.

Read:

Google Announces Spam Update Part 2

June 23, 2021

June 2021 Spam Update

Google’s Danny Sullivan announced via Twitter an algorithm update targeted at fighting spam was rolling out to search results. The rollout of the update was to be completed the same day. He added that a second spam update would follow within a week. Google revealed no specific details on what this update was targeting.

Read:

Google Rolls Out New Spam Algorithm Update