Google regularly updates its search algorithm to improve search results. Some major updates include: 1. Panda in 2011 targeted low-quality content farms and scraped content, affecting 11% of US websites. 2. Penguin in 2012 focused on over-optimization, link buying, and keyword stuffing. 3. Hummingbird in 2013 enhanced semantic search capabilities, better understanding long-tail queries and catering to mobile users. Major updates can significantly impact search visibility and rankings for sites using black hat SEO techniques like hidden text, massive internal linking, and unnatural outbound links. Google aims to surface the most relevant, unique content for users with each update.

1. Google’s Algorithm
Updates

2. Objectives
At the end of this training, the
participants should be able to:
Clearly identify all of the major Google
Algorithm Updates
Identify which Algorithm update a website may
have been affected by
Identify how the algorithms affected the World
Wide Web as a whole

3. What is an Algorithm
What is an
ALGORITHM
and what does
it do?

4. Long or short topic title goes here
Algorithm
A set of instructions carried out by a program to accomplish a task.

5. Algorithm for the Common Man
An Algorithm can be compared to a set of
instructions you give to someone to carry out a
solution to a problem.
For example, someone calls you to ask for directions
from their bus stop.
The Algorithm in this case would be like:
1. Wait for Bus A route 1
2. Get on the bus
3. Find vacant seat
4. Sit
5. Pay fare
6. Remain seated until reaching Unloading Bay A1-ABC
6. Get off at Unloading Bay A1-ABC
7. Walk from the Unloading Bay to the gate
8. Turn left
9. Look for house #6
– Destination reached –

6. Algorithm for the Common Man
A more complex Algorithm is being used and continuously improved by
Google to ensure that they deliver search results as accurately as possible.

7. How many can you name?
How many of the
Google Updates
can you name?

8. Google Browser Toolbar Update

9. Google Dance

10. Major Google Algorithm Updates
Every year since, Google has been
making updates to their algorithm.
Their goal is to make sure that
they return the most relevant
search results possible, in the
fastest way possible.
It’s said that Google makes 400
updates a year. That number
amounts to a minimum of one
update per day.

11. Major Google Algorithm Updates
Over the past 15 years, Google has
released plenty of Algorithm updates
that have affected the way search
results appear.
While some of the updates released
were subtle or quite unnoticeable,
others hit hard and changed how a
whole nation saw there SERP

12. Google Update February 2003 (Boston)
TARGET
• Incoming links
• Targeted phrases
• Unique content
EFFECT
• Noticeable decrease in
back links
• Heavily cross-loaded linked
sites penalized
• Lower Page Rank of the same
sites

13. Google Update: April 2003 (Cassandra)
TARGET
• Hidden texts
• Hidden links
• Massive internal linking
of co-owned sites
EFFECT
• Massive index update
• Lesser spam

14. Google Update: May 2003 (Dominic)
TARGET
• Back Links
EFFECT
• Cut-down on back linking
• Change in link weighting
• Drop in PageRank

15. Google Update : June 2003 (Esmeralda)
TARGET
• Page content
• Introduced Everflux
EFFECT
• Lesser spam
• Up to date information

16. Google Update: November 2003 (Florida)
TARGET
• Keyword stuffing
• Linking
• Low-value SEO techniques
EFFECT
• Road block for Black Hat
SEO techniques
• Removal of fishy back links

17. Google Update: January 2004 (Austin)
TARGET
• Invisible texts
• Meta elements
• Keyword density
EFFECT
• Penalizing of suspicious
sites
• Banning of spam sites

18. Google Update: February 2004 (Brandy)
TARGET
• Anchor text relevance
• Latent Semantic Indexing
EFFECT
• Authority sites picked
up rank

19. Google Update: February 2005 (Allegra)
TARGET
• Suspicious looking links
• Spam sites
EFFECT
• Drop in rankings for sites
with low-quality link
exchanges

20. Google Update: May 2005 (Bourbon)
TARGET
• Duplicate content
• Non-canonical URLs
EFFECT
• Removal of 302
Pagejacking

21. Google Update: October 2005 (Jagger)
TARGET
• Low-quality links
• Link farms
• Paid links
• Reciprocal links
EFFECT
• Cut down on irrelevant
reciprocal linking

22. Google Update: February 2006 (Big Daddy)
TARGET
• Inbound links
• Outbound links
• Suspected spam sites
EFFECT
• Suspected spam sites placed
under supplemental category
• Some highly suspicious sites
removed from the index

23. Google Update: August 2009 ( Caffeine)
TARGET
• Indexing
EFFECT
• Fresher search results
• Sites that ranked previously
were topped by newer
results with more relevant
content.

24. Google Update: February 2011 (Panda)
TARGET
• Content farms
• Scraped content
• Content depth
EFFECT
• Companies layoff workers
• 11% of US websites are
affected.

25. Google Update: April 2012 (Penguin)
TARGET
• Over optimization
• Link buying
• Keyword stuffing
EFFECT
• 3.1% of search queries

26. Google Update: Sept. 2013 (Hummingbird)
TARGET
• Improvement in
semantic search
EFFECT
• Conversation recognition
• Long tailed queries better
understood
• Caters to mobile users

27. Post-Update Effects
Who was affected?
Visibility Losses
94%
articlesbase.com
94%
suite101.com
93%
associatedcontent.com
93%
business.com
91%
essortment.com
Search Engine Rank Losses
79%
suite101.com
75%
associatedcontent.com
72%
buzzle.com
71%
ezinearticles.com
67%
hubpages.com

28. Chapter Summary
In this chapter, we have
learned the ff:
Understanding on algorithms
The major Google updates
Effects of Google updates on the
web