What Are Google Core Algorithm Updates?

Google is constantly changing and evolving, with the search engine making roughly 13 changes per day on average. The majority of these updates are small adjustments that most users and site owners won’t notice, but a few times a year, announcements are made for Google core algorithm updates. This announcement usually signals that there have been significant, broad changes to both the search algorithms and systems, and there’s a chance that they could have big implications for your website and revenue streams.

Recently, the August 2024 Google core update was announced, following quite a pattern over the past 18-months where changes and updates to the Google algorithm seemed to be a very regular occurrence. Understanding Google algorithm updates and their purpose means that preparing for, and recovering from, these core updates is much easier and reduces the long-term impact on your website.

If your brand or business relies on performing and ranking above competitors within the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs), then here’s what you need to know about Google core algorithm updates.

What Are Google Algorithm Updates?

Google algorithm updates are, in Google’s own words, “designed to ensure that we’re delivering on our mission to present helpful and reliable results for searchers”. Google algorithms are regularly updated to better understand page quality and relevance, as well as a domain overall, to essentially “gift” websites that it sees as deserving of that coveted top spot in the SERPs. Google core algorithm updates, however, are when Google implements changes to how its algorithms work and these can not only impact how a single page ranks for keywords, but the domain visibility overall.

A lot of Google’s core updates incorporate technological advancements, especially machine learning, which has led to some experts theorising that Google core updates are not actually changes being made to the algorithm, but instead machine learning which needs testing and recalibrating.

However, what we do know is that if a site is hit or impacted by a Google core update, then the results to traffic and conversions can be devastating and, in the worst case, irreparable.

Why Do Google Updates Take Place?

In order to keep users happy, Google needs to serve the best and most relevant results possible and, to do this, many factors need to be considered which include user expectations and tech advancements. This means that the search engine will update or change its algorithms to change what the SERP shows for users and ensure that it continues to deliver this relevant content.

The early Google core updates were focused on keeping people from manipulating the algorithm, with the early Penguin and Panda updates targeting spam link practices and thin content. Whilst Google still looks to target and reduce spam, in recent years more emphasis has been placed on ensuring that users are shown the highest quality content.

How Often Do Google Core Updates Occur?

As mentioned, Google makes small changes to the algorithm every day, but Google core updates tend to occur between 2-5 times per year. The occurrence of Google core updates has increased in recent years, with larger and more significant updates happening multiple times per year, often in quick succession of one another.

Unfortunately, there is no predicting when a Google core update will happen, but Google is much more open with its core updates now, making sure to announce them as and when it believes that users will notice the impact.

Google Algorithm Updates: A Brief History

Over the past 10 years, Google has rolled out several core updates with each of them having a significant impact on SEO and best practices overall. There have been many different updates, but some have been more significant than others, including:

2011 – Panda

Google was around long before 2011, however, the Panda update is noted as being the first major update within the ‘modern’ SEO era. This Google core update aimed to target websites which appeared to be designed purely to rank within the SERPs, trying to determine whether a website offered genuine information. This update had a huge impact on SEO, as it meant that site owners could no longer get away with having a site that had low quality pages.

2012 – Penguin

The Penguin Google core update looked at the external link profile of a website, aiming to ascertain whether backlinks on a site were genuine or if they had been paid for in an attempt to trick and manipulate the search results.

This update had a huge impact on sites that had built a lot of artificial links, causing them to disappear from the search results altogether. Penguin permanently changed the link building approach for marketers, meaning that sites had to work harder to build links from valued sources to add benefit to their sites.

2015 – Mobile Update

By 2015, more than 50% of Google’s search queries were made from mobile devices. This Google core update awarded mobile-friendly websites a ranking advantage within the mobile search results.

2019 – BERT

It was believed that the Google BERT core update was to be one of the biggest, set to impact one in ten searches. It was a machine learning algorithm, with BERT (or Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) able to figure out the full context of a word by looking at words which go both before and after.

Essentially, it knows the context and relation of all words within a sentence, meaning that it was better able to interpret search queries, delivering more relevant information for users.

2022 – Helpful Content Update

With the Helpful Content update, Google aimed to reward content that had a “people-first” approach, which helped answer user’s questions and provide a more satisfying user experience. Helpful Content Updates continue to roll out now, with a specific target on analysing and removing harmful or spammy AI content.

2022 – Google Spam Update

Another update that rolled out in 2022 was the Google Spam Update, which also continues to be updated regularly. This Google core update aimed to target poor quality or spammy backlink or content practices, rewarding sites with relevant and user-focused content.

Preparation and Recovery of a Google Core Update

As mentioned, it is very rare for Google core updates to be announced before they roll out. This means that it is difficult to determine the best ways to ensure that your website is largely unaffected. This, however, is one of the main aims of a Google core update roll out – to avoid site owners manipulating their website performance to withstand an update and inflate the results with poor quality content.

Instead, ensure that your website’s content is in line with the user’s best interest, is of high quality and that it is relevant for your target audience. This is done with both a considered SEO and content strategy. Supporting your website with an ongoing SEO strategy means that you can navigate any Google core update as positively as possible.

Recovering from an update is no easy task and can cause serious long-term damage to your site if not addressed correctly. In some instances, this can be unrecoverable and results in a permanent change for your site, as well as your business and revenue stream overall.

At Formation Media, our SEO and content team are on hand to ensure that your website is in the best possible position to not only weather any Google core update storms, but ensure that your website is rewarded with positive ranking changes and user engagement. For more information, contact Formation Media today!