Search engine optimization (SEO) has been shaped by countless updates to Google's core ranking algorithm over the years. While some changes are silent, many have become milestones in the history of SEO, marked by memorable codenames like Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird, and BERT. This page offers a complete reference guide to those major updates—what they were, when they happened, and why they mattered.
Use this as a quick reference, or click through to explore deeper insights into how each update changed search as we know it.
đź“ś Major Google Algorithm Updates
| Codename | Year(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | 2003 | First major update; targeted keyword stuffing and doorway pages. |
| Austin | 2004 | Follow-up to Florida; further penalized deceptive tactics. |
| Brandy | 2004 | Introduced LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing); improved keyword context. |
| Big Daddy | 2005–2006 | Infrastructure update; improved crawling and canonicalization. |
| Caffeine | 2010 | Overhaul of indexing system; enabled faster, fresher results. |
| Panda | 2011–2016 | Targeted low-quality content, thin content, and content farms. |
| Penguin | 2012–2016 | Targeted unnatural link building and webspam. |
| EMD Update | 2012 | Penalized exact match domains with low-quality content. |
| Hummingbird | 2013 | Rewrote the algorithm for better understanding of natural language. |
| Pigeon | 2014 | Improved local search by tying deeper into core ranking signals. |
| Mobilegeddon | 2015 | Prioritized mobile-friendly websites in mobile search results. |
| RankBrain | 2015 | Introduced AI/machine learning to interpret queries. |
| Possum | 2016 | Shuffled local search results based on location and business filtering. |
| Fred | 2017 (unofficial) | Targeted low-value content primarily created for ad revenue. |
| Medic Update | 2018 | Affected YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) sites, especially in health/finance. |
| BERT | 2019 | Used deep learning to better understand context in queries. |
| Helpful Content | 2022–2024 | Focused on demoting content written for search engines instead of people. |
| Spam Updates | Ongoing | Periodic updates to combat link spam, cloaking, and deceptive behavior. |
| Core Updates | Ongoing since ~2018 | Broad changes to improve result quality; named by month/year (e.g., “March 2024 Core Update”). |
Conclusion
Google’s algorithm evolves constantly—but its major shifts often leave a visible trail. Understanding these codenames helps demystify how and why your content may rise or fall in search results. Bookmark this page to keep these updates at your fingertips, and explore our deeper content to learn how to adapt your SEO strategy accordingly.
Need help interpreting one of these updates? Check out our Learn SEO hub or visit the Google Algorithm Updates timeline for detailed insights.