Google algorithm updates

Google has a long history of famous algorithm updates, search index changes and refreshes. Here is a timeline of major Google search algorithm updates.

Want to read our latest coverage of algorithm updates and changes? Jump to the latest algorithm update news and guides.

How many times does Google update its search algorithms?

Google search is changing all the time. In 2022, Google launched 4,725 changes to search – including changes to its ranking systems, user interface and more. That means Google search is changing, on average, 13 times per day.

But really, it could change even more than that if you’re opted into one or many experiments. Google also said in 2022 it ran:

• 13,280 live traffic experiments
• 894,660 search quality tests
• 148,038 side-by-side experiments

Many of these changes are minor. But algorithm updates tend to have a bigger, more noticeable impact. Algorithm updates can result in big wins or losses in rankings, traffic and revenue.

The history of Google algorithm updates: 2003-today

Here is a complete history of Google algorithm updates that you need to know about, in reverse chronological order.

---

2024 Google algorithm updates

---

Site reputation abuse

May

• Google pre-announced this update as part of its rollout of the March 2024 core update and spam updates (March 5).
• Third-party content produced primarily for ranking purposes and without close oversight of a website owner will be considered spam. Google used the example of a third party publishing payday loan reviews on a trusted educational website.
• Some SEOs refer to this practice as “parasite SEO.”
• Google will take both automated and manual actions

March 2024 core update

March 5

• A more complex algorithm update, with multiple core systems getting updated and released, resulting in more fluctuations in rankings than a regular core update.
• Google said unhelpful content in Search would be reduced by 40%.
• Update will take up to a month to rollout.
• Google’s helpful content system was incorporated into its overall core ranking system.

March 2024 spam updates

March 5

• Scaled content abuse (producing content at scale to boost search rankings – whether with automation, people or a combination) was classified as search spam.
• Expired domain abuse (buying expired domains and repurposing them with the “intention of boosting the search ranking of low-quality content”) was classified as spam.
• Google started taking action against these new types of spam through algorithmic spam systems and manual actions.
• Rollout completed March 20 (14 days)

---

2023 Google algorithm updates

---

 ‘Openness’ local search update

Dec. 16

• Google confirmed “openness” (whether a business is currently open) became a stronger signal for non-navigational queries.

November 2023 reviews update

Nov. 8

• Google said, heading forward, its reviews system would be “improved at a regular and ongoing pace,” so they would no longer announce future updates.
• Rollout completed Dec. 7 (29 days)
• Rollout overlapped with November 2023 core update (Nov. 2).