Google changes its algorithm 500-600 times every year. While most of these changes are minor, Google occasionally releases a major update that significantly impacts search results. This means that statements from those who say “SEO is done this way, SEO is done that way, I know SEO” regarding SEO are futile. This statement is like saying “I know science.” Science is always innovative and changeable. SEO is a science because it operates according to statistically reliable mathematical laws that predict human behavior. It is recommended that you update your websites to comply with Google algorithms.
Medic Core Update
Release Date: August 1, 2018
Target: Demoting health sites containing low-quality misinformation and technical SEO issues from search results.
What Should Be Done?
You likely experienced losses in specific keywords. After identifying which pages suffered these losses, check the content on those pages, fix technical on-site issues, and include content in your business development plan.
Chrome Security Warnings
Release Date: July 24, 2018
Target: Demoting websites not using SSL in search results and warning users via Google Chrome.
What Should Be Done?
A secure SSL protocol should be installed on the site, and HTTP entries should be closed via URL Rewrite. SSL should be forced.
Mobile Speed Update
Release Date: July 9, 2018
Target: Preventing websites with slow mobile speeds from appearing in search results. Google states that this algorithm affects only the slowest sites.
What Should Be Done?
Increasing Testmysite and PageSpeed Insight Mobile scores.
Video Carousels
Release Date: June 14, 2018
Target: Google turning videos into a carousel separated by thumbnails in organic results, and a 60% increase in video SERP results.
What Should Be Done?
Video is now a ranking criterion. No joke.
Description Length
Release Date: May 13, 2018
Target: After testing Meta Description structures with over 300 characters for a few months, Google returned to the old character count between 150-165.
What Should Be Done?
Relevant Description structures should be established based on 70-155 or 150-165 characters relevant to the content.
Mobile First
Release Date: March 26, 2018
Target: Google finally announced that mobile ranking would be different. After the algorithm was tested for months, sites with high mobile experiences saw significant increases in search result rankings.
What Should Be Done?
Ensure that the mobile experience is better than the desktop experience.
Fred Algorithm
Release Date: March 8, 2017
Target: To weed out low-quality websites whose sole purpose is revenue and ad publishing, and prevent them from appearing in Google results.
What Should Be Done?
Only ad-based content should not be published. Websites directed solely at affiliate programs should not be established.
Possum Algorithm
Release Date: September 1, 2016
Target: To bring more diverse search results based on the searcher’s location. Displaying search results according to the person’s physical location and the phrases they construct.
What Should Be Done?
Be in the same location as similar businesses. Offer services and content targeted at the searcher’s location.
RankBrain Algorithm
Release Date: April 26, 2015
Target: To provide better search results with the help of machine learning.
Rankbrain is a kind of artificial intelligence. It works by extracting summaries of pages and matching them. It also relies on traditional methods.
What Should Be Done?
User experience should be improved. Secure websites should be achieved. The bounce rate should be between 20%-40%.
Mobilegeddon Algorithm
Release Date: April 21, 2015
Target: To offer better ranking advantages to mobile-friendly pages and lower the ranking of sites without mobile compatibility.
It ensures that sites with good mobile compatibility appear in top search results.
What Should Be Done?
Pages must be made mobile-friendly, and content that is difficult to read on phones needs to be corrected. Check your mobile compatibility using various tools. Especially, we need to pass the Google Mobile Friendly test.
Pigeon Algorithm
Release Date: July 24, 2014
Target: To provide high-quality local search results
The Pigeon algorithm was applied for local search results. It shows results appropriate to the searcher’s location. After this algorithm, local sites started appearing at the top of Google results.
What Should Be Done?
The Google My Business page must be configured correctly. Pages belonging to a region should not be created without offering a service specific to that region.
Hummingbird Algorithm
Release Date: August 22, 2013
Target: To establish a connection between consecutive search queries.
What Should Be Done?
Work focused directly on keywords should not be done. Work based on a single word conflicts with this algorithm. Work can be done on keywords discovered with the Google Keyword tool.
Pirate Algorithm
Release Date: August 2012
Target: To lower the ranking of websites that infringe copyright.
It was created regarding unlimited copyright notices received by Google. This algorithm is also valid for YouTube. Protection methods from this algorithm, which particularly affects torrent sites, are as follows.
What Should Be Done?
Files such as movies and music on our sites need to be removed. Do not share a file with someone else’s copyright on your site.
Penguin Algorithm
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Target: Lowering the ranking of sites with spam and black hat backlinks.
Sites with backlinks obtained through spam techniques can no longer rank with this constantly updated algorithm. The Penguin algorithm is a system that works very quickly.
What Should Be Done?
Low-quality backlinks should be blocked with the disavow tool. You should examine the link profile in great detail. You should avoid paid backlinks and low-quality sites.
Panda Algorithm
Release Date: February 24, 2011
Target: Demoting sites with low-quality content.
Content is one of the most important factors when Google determines the quality score of websites. This algorithm works very fast and essentially penalizes sites publishing spam content. Even if it didn’t affect news sites in our country one bit, you should still consider this algorithm.
What Should Be Done?
Weak and duplicate content is edited. Logical sentences and presentations are made to increase the user’s reading time on the site.