8 Major Google Algorithm Updates

8 major Google algorithm updates by kaviAlmost every day, Google introduces changes to its ranking algorithm. Some are tiny tweaks; others seriously shake up the SERPs. This cheat sheet will help you make sense of the most important algo changes and penalties rolled out in the recent years, with a brief overview and SEO advice on each.1. PandaLaunch date: February 24, 2011Hazards: Duplicate, plagiarized or thin content; user-generated spam; keyword stuffingHow it works: Panda assigns a so-called quality score to web pages; this score is then used as a ranking factor. Initially, Panda was a filter rather than part of Googles ranking algo, but in January 2016, it was officially incorporated into the core algorithm. Panda rollouts have become more frequent, so both penalties and recoveries now happen faster.How to adjust: Run regular site checks for content duplication, thin content and keyword stuffing. To do that, youll need a site crawler.If you have an e-commerce site and cannot afford to have 100 percent unique content, try to use original images where you can, and utilize user reviews to make product descriptions stand out from the crowd.2. PenguinLaunch date: April 24, 2012Hazards: Spammy or irrelevant links; links with over-optimized anchor textHow it works: Google Penguins objective is to down-rank sites whose links it deems manipulative. Since late 2016, Penguin has been part of Googles core algorithm; unlike Panda, it works in real time.How to adjust: Monitor your link profiles growth and run regular audits with a backlink. In the tools Summary dashboard, youll find a progress graph for your link profiles growth. Look out for any unusual spikes: those are reason enough to look into the back links youve unexpectedly gained.The stats that we know Penguin takes into account are incorporated into SEO SpyGlasss Penalty Risk formula. To check for penalty risks, go to the Linking Domains dashboard, navigate to the Link Penalty Risks tab, select your links, and click Update Penalty Risk. When the check is complete, check with the Penalty Risk column, and make sure to look into every link with a score over 50 percent.3. HummingbirdLaunch date: August 22, 2013Hazards: Keyword stuffing; low-quality contentHow it works: Hummingbird helps Google better interpret search queries and provide results that match searcher intent (as opposed to the individual terms within the query). While keywords continue to be important, Hummingbird makes it possible for a page to rank for a query even if it doesnt contain the exact words the searcher entered. This is achieved with the help of natural language processing that relies on latent semantic indexing, co-occurring terms and synonyms.How to adjust: Expand your keyword research and focus on concepts, not keywords. Carefully research related searches, synonyms and co-occurring terms. Great sources of such ideas are Google Related Searches and Google Autocomplete.Use these insights to understand your audiences language better and diversify your content. By creating comprehensive content that satisfies searcher intent, youll win both in terms of engagement and SEO. Well look at comprehensiveness in more detail later in this post when we discuss RankBrain.4. PigeonLaunch date: July 24, 2014 (US); December 22, 2014 (UK, Canada, Australia)Hazards: Poor on- and off-page SEORefer: http://webdesigntraining.co.in/8-major-google-algorithm-updates/Sriwebeo is focused on providing Digital Marketing and Web Solutions to the small to medium sized business community.Sriwebeo help clients to achieve their business goals through customized web design, software products ecommerce solutions, multimedia presentations and various internet marketing programs designed to promote their businesArticle Source: eArticlesOnline.com