The Google algorithm is the intelligent system responsible for providing the results that are stored in the world's largest information directory, Google.
This search engine uses a combination of rules that evolve at the same time as technological advances. Google's mission is to provide the best search experience for its users, and this is the reason why Google's famous algorithm is constantly evolving.
Previously, Google's algorithm changed once or twice a year, but now there are countless changes made every year.
Google algorithm updates may go unnoticed by many, however, they cannot go unnoticed by all those who are dedicated to digital marketing, to SMEs or entrepreneurs who rely on Google and other search engines to grow their businesses.
There's no question that Google's algorithm is a bit of a mystery. Even experts don't really know how it works. Google's own engineers are quite secretive about the inner workings of the algorithm, and for good reason: if someone knew exactly how it works, they could explote it to their own advantage. What we do know is that the algorithm is constantly changing and that it takes into account hundreds of different factors when ranking websites. Aspects such as site architecture, link quality, content quality, user participation, etc., play an important role in determining where a website will appear in search results. The algorithm is also designed to eliminate spammy or low-quality sites, so you can be sure that if your website appears in the first places, it's because Google thinks it's one of the best.
Here is a list of the most relevant Google algorithms throughout history.
Google Florida marked the beginning of the SEO era. Websites that used to use techniques known as Black SEO (invisible text, hidden links, excessive use of keywords or link farms) were severely penalized and thus began an era of SEO oriented to quality and user experience.
Continuing to improve the user experience, Google Jagger continued to emphasize penalizing sites that had excessive, irrelevant and manipulated links. Big Daddy transformed the way Google managed the structure of links and URLs such as canonical links.
Vince was an adjustment that benefited well-known brands in order to rank them in the first places, of course, without affecting sites that had less authority. It simply tried to benefit longtime brands like Coca Cola, Sears, American Airlines to stand out in the SERPs.
Google Caffeine improved the way websites were indexed, refreshing Google's overall results by up to 50%. Web developers were previously alerted so that they could update their sites without being penalized by Google.
MayDay was a change that benefited sites optimized with long-tail keywords. This update was permanent.
This algorithm adjustment affected low-quality sites (design, user experience, architecture) as well as thin sites and content farms.
Penguin proved to be a nightmare for all those sites that had exaggerated, artificial or manipulated optimization. Similar to the principles of Big Daddy, Google penalized those sites that tried to cheat without following the guidelines established by Google.
This setting penalized sites with intrusive and excessive ads. Committed to a better user experience, Google implemented a series of changes to its AdSense platform to positively support sites that relied on advertising.
For the first time, the Venice update benefited all those sites in relation to the user's location and IP addresses. It was one of the first steps that Google took in implementing geolocation in Google Search and other products such as Google Maps, etc.
This time, Google impacted all those sites with a dark reputation such as online casinos, sites that offered loans with stratospheric interest rates and online pharmacies with a dubious reputation.
Hummingbird was one of the biggest adjustments made to date, affecting 90% of Google searches. This adjustment was characterized by establishing the first parameters related to voice search, in addition to improving the relevance of results in relation to the keywords used for searches.
Many consider Pigeon to be a continuation of Venice to continue refining the results in relation to the user's location. (distance and location)
This update has undoubtedly been one of my favorites, since it gave a lot of value to the content industry and to the behavior that the user demonstrated when visiting websites. RankBrain is a learning algorithm (machine learning) that stores information such as the time a user spends on a page, bounce rates, clicks to rates, page loads, etc., to determine the quality of the site and thus benefit those who rate the highest. In Google Ads, there is something similar known as a quality score.
As you can imagine, this update penalized all sites worldwide that will not have a mobile design. It was a prelude to Google being able to carry out mobile indexing two years later, which today governs all Google searches worldwide.
There isn't much official information about the specific features of this update, but I can assure you that it shook the Internet of Things. Google confirmed that this update was aimed at penalizing mediocre or non-optimized content on websites.
A couple of days ago I published an article in which I write in detail about BERT. It is the most important adjustment that has been carried out in the last 5 years and is called by its acronym in English (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers). In short, BERT will perfect advances in machine learning and will ensure that when you ask Google something, it will provide you with information, as if you had asked a human being.
The update of the Google page experience is designed to make the web easier to use. The update takes into account factors such as load time, interactivity and visual stability to ensure that users have a positive experience when they visit a website.
This is an important change, as it will help ensure that users can find the information they need quickly and easily. In addition, the update will also help improve the ranking of websites in search results. This is a positive change for both users and website owners, as it will help make the web a more user-friendly place.
Google's algorithm has come a long way since its inception, and it's constantly evolving to deliver the best search results to users. Although there are many factors involved in ranking web pages, knowing the history of Google's algorithm is a good starting point for trying to improve your website's SEO. Do you have any questions about how Google's algorithm works? Let us know!
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