News
SEOs report more manual actions as Google stays silent
Marie Haynes and Daniel Foley Carter say manual action cases are rising. It is anecdotal, with no Google data, and the spam update finished the same day.
Google core updates - what changes and what to do
What Core updates means
A Google core update is a broad, site-wide change to how Google's ranking systems assess relevance and quality. Core updates are not penalties: they re-score the whole index against revised criteria, so a site can lose visibility without having done anything newly wrong. Recovery follows from improving the underlying content and site signals, not from removing a flag.
Reference: developers.google.com
News
The September 2026 spam update finished after 13 days
Google's September 2026 spam update finished on 8 October after 13 days and 16 hours, the longest of its 2026 spam updates. What it means for your data.
News
Google ties more spam updates to a flood of new content
At Search Central Live, Google said spam updates target much new content, AI helps catch it, and scaled content now worries it more than link spam.
News
Google warns against fake author profiles in its guidance
Google's helpful content page now calls fabricated creator profiles deception: AI headshots, made-up names and false credentials.
News
Google adds a main content section to its helpful content page
Google's people-first content page now defines main content and lists four attributes raters assess: effort, originality, talent or skill, and accuracy.
News
September 2026 spam update: tools show a heavy weekend
Rank tools showed heavy movement from 25 to 27 September 2026, days into the spam update's rollout. Google's dashboard still shows no completion entry.
News
Google's September 2026 spam update: the fourth of 2026
Google started the September 2026 spam update on 24 September. It is the fourth spam update of 2026, 37 days after August's, with a two-week window.
Reports
What to do after a Google core update: Google's recovery steps
Google's own recovery steps after a core update: wait a week, compare the right dates, size the drop, self-assess and avoid quick fixes.
Reports
How to tell which Google update hit your site: a 5-step method
Match a Search Console drop to confirmed Google update dates using 7-day windows, search types and a manual actions check, then rule out overlaps.
Tools
Google algorithm update checker: overlay updates on your traffic
Upload your Search Console clicks and see every Google-confirmed update on the same chart, with a week-before and week-after comparison for each. Free.
Algorithm Updates
April 2018 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google released a broad core algorithm update on Monday 16 April 2018 and confirmed it on Twitter four days later. It gave no completion date.
Algorithm Updates
April 2023 reviews update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's April 2023 reviews update ran 13 days from 12 to 25 April 2023 and widened the reviews system beyond products to services and things.
Algorithm Updates
August 2018 core update (Medic): dates, what changed, what to do
Google's August 2018 broad core update was confirmed on 1 August 2018 and complete by 8 August. The industry nicknamed it Medic; Google said it was global.
Algorithm Updates
August 2022 helpful content update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's first helpful content update ran 15 days from 25 August to 9 September 2022, adding a site-wide signal against unhelpful content.
Algorithm Updates
August 2023 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's August 2023 core update ran 16 days from 22 August to 7 September 2023, announced on the Search Status Dashboard without a blog post.
Algorithm Updates
August 2024 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's August 2024 core update ran 19 days from 15 August to 3 September 2024 and aimed to reward useful content, including small sites.
Algorithm Updates
August 2026 spam update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's August 2026 spam update ran from 18 to 21 August 2026, about three days, globally and in all languages. Dates and what to do.
Algorithm Updates
Austin update (2004): what was reported and what it means now
Austin was an unconfirmed Google ranking shake-up first reported on 24 January 2004. Google never confirmed it; WebmasterWorld named it.
Algorithm Updates
BERT update (2019): what it changed and what it means now
Google announced BERT on 25 October 2019. It first helped with 1 in 10 US English searches and by 2020 was used in almost every English query.
Algorithm Updates
Bourbon update (2005): what changed and what it means now
Bourbon was a staged 2005 Google update that a Google employee described in forum posts as 3.5 improvements in search quality.
Algorithm Updates
December 2017 updates (Maccabees): what Google said and what to do
Google confirmed several minor search improvements in mid-December 2017, not one update. Search Engine Roundtable nicknamed the changes Maccabees.
Algorithm Updates
December 2020 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's December 2020 core update ran from 3 December to 16 December 2020, seven months after the May 2020 core update.
Algorithm Updates
December 2022 helpful content update: dates and what to do
Google's December 2022 helpful content update ran 38 days from 5 December 2022 to 12 January 2023, improved the classifier and covered all languages.
Algorithm Updates
December 2024 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's December 2024 core update ran 6 days from 12 to 18 December 2024, a week after the November core update and just before a spam update.
Algorithm Updates
December 2025 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's December 2025 core update ran 18 days, from 11 to 29 December 2025. Dates, what Google said, and how to check your own data.
Algorithm Updates
Dewey update (2008): what was reported and what it means now
Dewey was a Google ranking shuffle first reported on 31 March 2008. Google never confirmed a change; the industry named it after a feedback keyword.
Algorithm Updates
Florida update (2003): what was reported and what it means now
Florida was an unconfirmed Google ranking shake-up first reported on 14 November 2003. Google never confirmed it; the industry named it.
Algorithm Updates
Fred update (2017): what Google said and what it means now
Fred is the name attached to a March 2017 Google ranking change. Google acknowledged an update but never detailed it; here is what is on record.
Algorithm Updates
September 2026 spam update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's September 2026 spam update ran 13 days and 16 hours, from 24 September to 8 October 2026. The dates, what Google said and what to do.
Algorithm Updates
Jagger update (2005): what changed and what it means now
Jagger was a three-part Google update from October 2005 that Matt Cutts tracked on his blog. The industry named it; Google asked for spam reports.
Algorithm Updates
January 2016 core update: what Google confirmed and what to do
Google confirmed on 12 January 2016 that ranking changes seen that weekend were a core algorithm update, not Penguin. It gave the update no name.
Algorithm Updates
January 2020 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's January 2020 core update went live on 13 January 2020. Google said on 16 January it was mostly done, but never gave a finish date.
Algorithm Updates
July 2021 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's July 2021 core update ran from 1 to 12 July 2021 and delivered the improvements Google held back from the June 2021 core update.
Algorithm Updates
June 2019 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's June 2019 core update ran from 3 to 8 June 2019. It was the first core update Google announced before it went live.
Algorithm Updates
June 2021 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's June 2021 core update ran from 2 to 12 June 2021 as the first half of a two-part release completed by the July 2021 core update.
Algorithm Updates
June 2025 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's June 2025 core update ran just under 17 days from 30 June to 17 July 2025, inside the up-to-three-weeks estimate Google gave at launch.
Algorithm Updates
June 2026 spam update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's June 2026 spam update ran from 24 to 26 June 2026, about two days, globally and in all languages. Dates and what to do.
Algorithm Updates
March 2018 core update: what Google confirmed and what to do
Google confirmed on 12 March 2018 that it released a broad core algorithm update the previous week. It said there was no fix for pages that lost ground.
Algorithm Updates
March 2019 core update: dates, the Florida 2 name and what to do
Google's March 2019 core update began on 12 March 2019. Google confirmed it on X and named it after the industry called it Florida 2.
Algorithm Updates
March 2023 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's March 2023 core update ran 13 days from 15 to 28 March 2023. Google published no impact figures; here is what is known and what to do.
Algorithm Updates
March 2024 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's March 2024 core update ran 45 days from 5 March to 19 April 2024, changed multiple core systems and folded helpfulness into core ranking.
Algorithm Updates
March 2024 spam update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's March 2024 spam update ran just under 15 days from 5 to 20 March 2024, launched with the March 2024 core update and three new spam policies.
Algorithm Updates
March 2025 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's March 2025 core update ran just under 14 days from 13 to 27 March 2025, matching the up-to-two-weeks estimate Google gave at launch.
Algorithm Updates
March 2026 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's March 2026 core update ran 12 days, from 27 March to 8 April 2026, starting two days after the March 2026 spam update ended.
Algorithm Updates
March 2026 spam update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's March 2026 spam update ran from 24 to 25 March 2026, about a day, globally and in all languages, just before the March core update.
Algorithm Updates
May 2020 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's May 2020 core update ran from 4 May to 18 May 2020. Google confirmed the start and the completion on X.
Algorithm Updates
May 2022 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's May 2022 core update ran 15 days, from 25 May to 9 June 2022. What Google confirmed and what its core update guidance says to do.
Algorithm Updates
May 2026 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's May 2026 core update ran just under 12 days, from 21 May to 2 June 2026. The dates, what Google said, and how to check your own data.
Algorithm Updates
November 2021 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's November 2021 core update ran 13 days, from 17 to 30 November 2021. What Google confirmed and what its core update guidance says to do.
Algorithm Updates
November 2023 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's November 2023 core update ran just under 26 days from 2 to 28 November 2023 and improved a different core system than the October 2023 update.
Algorithm Updates
November 2023 reviews update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's November 2023 reviews update ran 29 days from 8 November to 7 December 2023, the last reviews update Google announced on its dashboard.
Algorithm Updates
November 2024 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's November 2024 core update ran about 23 and a half days from 11 November to 5 December 2024, longer than the two weeks Google first estimated.
Algorithm Updates
October 2023 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's October 2023 core update ran just under 14 days from 5 to 19 October 2023, overlapping the October 2023 spam update almost exactly.
Algorithm Updates
October 2023 spam update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's October 2023 spam update ran from 4 to 19 October 2023 and targeted cloaking, hacked, auto-generated and scraped spam in many languages.
Algorithm Updates
Panda 2.0 (2011): global English rollout and blocked-site data
On 11 April 2011 Google rolled Panda out to all English-language users and began using data on sites users blocked. About 2% of U.S. queries were affected.
Algorithm Updates
Panda 4.1 (2014): a slow Panda rollout, 3% to 5% of queries
Google confirmed Panda 4.1 on 25 September 2014, a slow rollout Google said would affect about 3% to 5% of queries depending on location.
Algorithm Updates
Panda 4.2 (2015): the slow Panda refresh and what it means now
Google confirmed a Panda refresh in July 2015 that hit 2% to 3% of English queries and took months to roll out. It was the last numbered Panda.
Algorithm Updates
Panda 4.0 (2014): a new Panda algorithm, 7.5% of queries
Matt Cutts announced Panda 4.0 on 20 May 2014, a new version of the Panda algorithm that Google said affected about 7.5% of English queries.
Algorithm Updates
Panda update (2011): what it changed and what it means now
Google's Panda update of 24 February 2011 cut rankings for low-quality sites and noticeably affected 11.8% of queries. It is now in core ranking.
Algorithm Updates
Penguin 4.0 (2016): real-time link spam and what it means now
Google's Penguin 4.0 launched on 23 September 2016, made Penguin real-time and more granular, and folded it into Google's core ranking systems.
Algorithm Updates
May 2015 quality update: what changed and what it means now
In May 2015 Google confirmed a change to how its core algorithm processes quality signals. The industry called it the Quality update, or Phantom 2.
Algorithm Updates
RankBrain (2015): what Google's first AI ranking system does
Google disclosed RankBrain on 26 October 2015 as a machine-learning system for interpreting searches. It is still one of Google's ranking systems today.
Algorithm Updates
September 2019 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's September 2019 core update went live on 24 September 2019. Google said it would not post when the rollout ended.
Algorithm Updates
September 2022 core update: dates, what changed and what to do
Google's September 2022 core update ran 14 days from 12 to 26 September 2022 and overlapped a product reviews update. Dates and what to do.
Algorithm Updates
September 2023 helpful content update: dates and what to do
Google's September 2023 helpful content update ran about 13 and a half days from 14 to 28 September 2023 and improved the helpful content classifier.
Algorithm Updates
Vince update (2009): what changed and what it means now
The Vince update was a 2009 Google ranking change that Matt Cutts confirmed on video and said was about trust, not a push for big brands.
News
Ranking volatility hits September 23-24, spam update confirmed
Search Engine Roundtable tracked rank-tool volatility on 23 and 24 September 2026, and its report carries a note that Google confirmed a spam update.
Research
Ahrefs 600,000-page study: AI content and Google rankings
Ahrefs checked the top 20 Google results for 100,000 keywords with its AI detector and found almost no link between AI share and ranking position.
Research
Did sites recover after the HCU? Amsive's 400-site tracking
Amsive tracked about 400 sites hit by the September 2023 Helpful Content Update and found no known significant recoveries by late March 2024.
Research
Reddit's top-3 share after the May 2026 core update
SE Ranking tracked 100,000 keywords in 20 niches and measured Reddit's share of Google's top three results. This piece reviews its method and limits.
Studies
JunkCarsUs: HCU recovery from 30-50 to 400-500 clicks a day
SeoProfy's case study on JunkCarsUs: after the September 2023 HCU, pruning pages and rewriting templates preceded a rise to 400-500 daily clicks.
News
Google ranking volatility spikes sharply, no update confirmed
SEO chatter spiked on 15 September 2026 and rank-trackers may be heating up. Barry Schwartz suspects an update is starting; Google has confirmed nothing.
News
An unconfirmed September update hit big sites, then fully reversed
Glenn Gabe tracked large sites dropping hard around September 3-4, 2026, then surging back on September 13. Google confirmed neither move.
Reports
Google SERP volatility by category, mid-September 2026
Semrush Sensor's live index reads 2.1 out of 10 for mid-September 2026, but News and Finance run far hotter than Science or Health.
Reports
How many confirmed Google updates ship a year, 2015 to 2026
85 confirmed major Google updates since 2015, counted year by year, next to Google's own figure for total changes, and why the two must stay separate.
News
Google splits site reputation enforcement along the EEA border
From 30 August, a site reputation manual action changes results only outside the EEA. Inside it, the section is separated and left to rank on its own.
Reports
Every confirmed Google ranking update since August 2025
Eight confirmed updates, with Google's own start dates and rollout durations, and what the pattern says about when to judge a decline in your data.
News
The August 2026 spam update finished in under 3 days
Google's August 2026 spam update ran from 18 to 21 August. Here is how to tell a spam-update drop from a core-update drop in your own data.
Reports
How Google's scaled-content spam enforcement moved through 2026
From the May 2026 spam-policy revision to the August spam update, tracing enforcement against mass-produced, low-value content across 2026.
Research
Site reputation abuse: what the evidence actually shows
Google has enforced its site reputation abuse policy since May 2024. Here is what is documented versus what is anecdotal case tracking.
Research
NavBoost: what the DOJ trial and the API leak actually confirmed
Court testimony and a leaked Google document, read together, describe a click-based ranking system Google spent years declining to confirm in public.
Research
What Google actually names in its own ranking systems guide
Google publishes a real, maintained list of the named systems behind Search ranking. Read directly, not summarized secondhand.
News
The May 2026 core update finished after 11 days, its second this year
Google's May 2026 broad core update ran 21 May to 2 June, its second confirmed core update of 2026. What the dates mean for reading your own traffic.
News
Google ships its first Discover-only algorithm update
Google's first Discover-only core update ran three weeks, targeted clickbait and thin republishing. Discover clicks arrive fast: over 70% land on day one.