Understanding the way search engines work is essential to any successful digital marketing campaign. Google holds the vast majority of the market share, making it the primary search engine. The primary goal of Google is to provide relevant results for its usersā queries to quickly satisfy intent. In order to consistently deliver accurate results, Google periodically updates their ranking algorithm. Some updates are minor; others create major waves of change. Letās take a look at the most important Google algorithm updates to-date, and their impact on digital marketing.
Panda
February 2011
This algorithm update assigned quality scores to web pages and began using them as a ranking factor. Panda was created to combat keyword-stuffed and duplicate content that was irrelevant for users, and only written for a search engine. By penalizing sites with this type of thin content, Panda set a higher standard for content that is well written and provides value to a user.
Penguin
April 2012
The Penguin update goes hand-in-hand with Panda by targeting irrelevant links and anchor text. Prior to Penguin, the websites with the most links ranked the highest, which resulted in quality issues and disregard for the user. Penguin shifted this ranking factor to focus more on the quality of links in order to better serve the userās needs.
Hummingbird
August 2013
Hummingbird introduced semantic search, designed to help Google understand the intent of a userās query to provide better results. This caused dramatic changes for SEO, because focusing on a single keyword was now detrimental. Hummingbird shifted the importance to content with broader topics and keyword synonyms.
Pigeon
July 2014
By placing an emphasis on a userās location for particular searches, Pigeon encouraged the shift of importance to on- and off-page SEO.
Mobile
April 2015
Also known as Mobilegeddon, this algorithm update placed a primary importance on pages specifically optimized for mobile devices. Web pages that were not mobile-friendly were filtered out of SERPs. A mobile-friendly site focuses on speed and usability, and is designed for a positive user experience on a smaller screen.
RankBrain
October 2015
Part of the Hummingbird algorithm, RankBrain is a machine-learning system that helps Google understand the meaning or intent behind search queries. This algorithm is constantly changing and updating to better serve users as it continues to gather data. RankBrain places a greater importance on well-written and relevant content.
AdWords
February 2016
This update was especially impactful for paid search, because it removes sidebar ads on search engine results. This led to four ads at the top of the SERP, with the only exception being Product Listing Ads and ads in the knowledge graph. The update is designed for highly commercial queries in order to provide the most relevant results for users.
Fred
March 2017
Fred is a ranking update directly related to link quality. The update targets sites with excessive advertisements to increase revenue, while providing poor or irrelevant content. Websites aimed at revenue rather than helping users saw a significant decrease in traffic.
Speed Update
January 2018
While page speed has been a ranking factor on desktop for the last eight years, this update makes page speed a ranking factor on mobile pages as well. Websites that have not been optimized for mobile will face significant decreases in traffic for slow loading pages.
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