Over the last week, there has been a lot of noise about possible Google algorithm updates but fortunately, it was launched a new Google algorithm update on June 3, 2019. While the updates have certainly been substantial, something you need to keep in mind is that Google updates its algorithm every single day.
However, what has happened in recent months has certainly been substantial, and the daily updates that typically occur certainly don’t compare to this in any way. We have here at Detailed just because of unique trackers so thanks to them. We’ve seen substantial average ranking shifts across a number of websites.
Google, the second most valuable brand in the world, is the first time that Google announced an prior to its roll-out. Changes in the algorithm are often announced. The early announcement made the SEO community think that this algorithm update is going to be big.
Nevertheless, the person behind the Google Search Liaison Twitter channel, assures everyone through Twitter that “the update is nothing special or particular “big”. It’s the just usual type of core updates that we regularly do. We just wanted to be more proactive. Rather than people scratching their heads after-the-fact and asking. We thought it would be good to just let folks know before it rolled out.”
Apparently, Google just wants to change its strategy. It no longer wants to surprise users and publishers that is why it made an early announcement for the company’s visibility in the organic search result.
Here’s is a list of all major updates that Google has done so far from the year 2017.
June 25 Update (June 25, 2017)
Google did not confirm this update, but SEO tracking tools saw significant shifts on rankings on this date. It apparently engendered one of the greatest fluctuations in page ranking especially in Positions 6-10. Several niches were affected, but this was mostly felt in the goods and beverage industry.
Quality Update (July 9, 2017)
Still unconfirmed by Google, this quality update was reported by SEO ranking tools to have created minor volatility in search results.
Quality Update (August 19, 2017)
Between August 19 and 20, webmasters and SEO ranking tools reported several minor volatilities. This is an unconfirmed quality update from Google.
This update seemed to have affected category pages, lower-quality and thin contents, pages with aggressive advertising, and other elements that brought about negative user experience.
Speculations indicate that this update may have been tested starting August 14 since several of the positively and negatively affected pages had seen that changes started on the said date. Nevertheless, the most felt impact took place on August 19.
Fall Flux (September 8, 2017)
Industry players reported an update on this date, but Google never confirmed this. There were reported changes especially affecting the traffic and search visibility of several sites starting this date. Further volatility and fluctuations were felt up until October 12.
Maccabees Update (December 12, 2017)
Between December 12 and 14, several websites were reported to have been hit by an update. Eventually, Google did confirm minor changes in the core algorithm in the given period. Nevertheless, Google claims effects were not of much significance.
Broad Core Algorithm Update (March 9, 2018)
This update was confirmed three days after it was implemented. The confirmation was made through Twitter, and it stated that the roll out had taken place prior to the confirmation date.
Not so much detail was given about the update. However, Google did claim that this update aims to “previously under-rewarded” pages. This also aims to encourage everyone to focus on providing excellent content.
Broad Core Algorithm Update (April 16, 2018)
Just a month after the Broad Core Algorithm Update was yet another similar update. Google did confirm this release. It was again aimed at the relevance of content and continued to encourage the provision of high-quality content.
Broad Core Algorithm Update (August 1, 2018)
Another broad core algorithm update was implemented for the third time in a year. This was confirmed by Google through Twitter. Google recommended adherence to their guidelines created after the March 9, 2018 update.
This August 1, 2018 update is coined the “Medic” by industry players. Google said this update is simply a general ranking update. It does not particularly target medical sites.
A “Small” Update (September 27, 2018)
On this date, there were significant changes in hikes and declines in traffic detected by SEO experts. This caused many to conclude that a new Google update had been rolled out.
Sites affected by the broad core algorithm update in August apparently recovered. This update was confirmed by Google two days later. It was said to be a ‘small’ update and not a broad core algorithm update.
Unconfirmed Halloween Update (October 31, 2018)
This one is a phantom update according to SEO experts. Nevertheless, Google denies the rollout of an update on this date. However, there seemed to be some evidence that this update did take place.
There were apparently some changes in the ranking of long tail keywords, which were infrequently searched. Such keywords are said to be unreliable because of vagueness.
Then again, there are players who say that changes in the ranking of long tail keywords are not proof enough of an update. Conclusively, it is likely that there was no real core update during this month.
Valentine’s Day Update (February 13, 2019)
This update focused on identifying the best pages to address a user’s query based mostly or relevance and not quality. People were not quite sure about whether this update did take place, but there were reports of SERP movements to prove that this update did take place.
With this new change, page titles seemed to have become utterly important. Experts suggest that when there is an update, and a site loses ranking, it is ideal to wait 10 to 15 days before making any changes since most updates are continually improved within these days.
March 2019 Core Update (a.k.a Florida 2)
This is a broad core update. Google was not targeting any specific niche or particular signal. In fact, Google says it is not targeting anything. There are no fixes according to Google.
This update simply helps Google to match search queries to web pages more accurately. It aimed to improve user satisfaction in short. Reactions to this update were mostly positive as it is seen as a rollback for the previous updates. Several SEO experts said that they are recovering their rankings in their formerly penalized sites.