What Is a Google Algorithm Update?

Google has developed ranking algorithms that sort through billions of pages to find the best results. The code that runs the whole operation is an algorithm.

Simply put:

An algorithm update is a change in the ranking system that helps it serve more useful, relevant results. Which ensures a better experience for the search user. 

Major updates, also called core updates, are different and come two to three times a year. They’re often announced before their rollout because they impact billions of web pages at once. 

Examples of core algorithm updates include:

The Panda Update (2011)

The Penguin Update (2012)

The Hummingbird Update (2013)

The RankBrain Update (2015)

Organic traffic is still one of the largest sources of profit for lots of companies and individuals. Consequently, many blackhat SEOs try to win in the SERPs by using low-quality content and illegal SEO techniques.

To prevent that, Google is always working on identifying those spammy practices and stopping them before they spread.

How Do SEO Algorithm Updates Affect Your Site?

As we mentioned earlier:

Minor updates are launched on a day-to-day basis and won’t affect your site ranking in any way. On the contrary, core updates are less frequent but have a more significant impact as they affect millions of sites at once.

The simple truth is:

The different ways Google decides to improve user experience are never clear ahead of time. And it’s impossible to predict how an upcoming update will impact your SEO performance.

You can win or lose based on the update. 

For instance:

If your website is up to date with the latest practices, you’ll get better rankings and a boost in traffic. Or you may lose some of your organic traffic if Google decides to reward your competitors instead of you. 

How Do You Know if Google Is Launching a New Update?

Since most algorithm changes are insignificant, you can’t keep informed of all of them. Therefore, we’ll mainly focus in this part on core updates.

Using Google Search Console and Google Analytics, you can closely monitor your SEO results. If you ever notice any notable changes in your page rankings or organic traffic, reason for that may be an algorithm update.

For most updates, Google will announce the launch date with some minor details about what’s going to change. More information will follow later as they progress forward with the rollout.

Check popular SEO blogs to look for any information about the update. You may also join SEO communities on Reddit or follow SEO specialists on social media to find answers.

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