Penguin -
April 24, 2012
After
weeks of speculation about an "Over-optimization penalty", Google
finally rolled out the "Webspam Update", which was soon after dubbed
"Penguin." Penguin adjusted a number of spam factors, including
keyword stuffing, and impacted an estimated 3.1% of English queries.
Another step to reward high-quality sites
(Google)
The Penguin Update: Google’s Webspam Algorithm Gets Official
Name (SEL)
Google Penguin Update Recovery Tips & Advice
(SEL)
Panda 3.5
- April 19, 2012
In the
middle of a busy week for the algortihm, Google quietly rolled out a Panda data
update. A mix of changes made the impact difficult to measure, but this appears
to have been a fairly routine update with minimal impact.
Google Mocks Me For Missing Panda 3.5 (SER)
Parked
Domain Bug - April 16, 2012
After a
number of webmasters reported ranking shuffles, Google confirmed that a data
error had caused some domains to be mistakenly treated as parked domains (and
thereby devalued). This was not an intentional algorithm change.
Dropped In Rankings? Google’s Mistake Over Parked Domains
Might Be To Blame (SEL)
Updated: Google Update April 2012? Over SEO Penalty?
(SER)
March
50-Pack - April 3, 2012
Google
posted another batch of update highlights, covering 50 changes in March. These
included confirmation of Panda 3.4, changes to anchor-text "scoring",
updates to image search, and changes to how queries with local intent are
interpreted.
Search quality highlights: 50 changes for March
(Google)
Google’s March Updates: Anchor Text, Image Search,
Navigational Search & More (SEL)
Panda 3.4
- March 23, 2012
Google
announced another Panda update, this time via Twitter as the update was rolling
out. Their public statements estimated that Panda 3.4 impacted about 1.6% of
search results.
Google Says Panda 3.4 Is ‘Rolling Out Now’ (SEL)
Search
Quality Video - March 12, 2012
This
wasn't an algorithm update, but Google published a rare peek into a search
quality meeting. For anyone interested in the algorithm, the video provides a
lot of context to both Google's process and their priorities. It's also a
chance to see Amit Singhal in action.
Video! The search quality meeting, uncut (Google)
Panda 3.3
- February 27, 2012
Google
rolled out another post-"flux" Panda update, which appeared to be
relatively minor. This came just 3 days after the 1-year anniversary of Panda,
an unprecedented lifespan for a named update.
Google Confirms Panda 3.3 Update (SEL)
Confirmed: Google Panda 3.3 (SER)
February
40-Pack (2) - February 27, 2012
Google
published a second set of "search quality highlights" at the end of
the month, claiming more than 40 changes in February. Notable changes included
multiple image-search updates, multiple freshness updates (including phasing
out 2 old bits of the algorithm), and a Panda update.
Search quality highlights: 40 changes for February
(Google)
Venice -
February 27, 2012
As part
of their monthly update, Google mentioned code-name "Venice". This
local update appeared to more aggressively localize organic results and more
tightly integrate local search data. The exact roll-out date was unclear.
Understand and Rock the Google Venice Update (SEOmoz)
Google Venice Update – New Ranking Opportunities for Local
SEO (Catalyst eMarketing)
February
17-Pack - February 3, 2012
Google
released another round of "search quality highlights" (17 in all).
Many related to speed, freshness, and spell-checking, but one major
announcement was tighter integration of Panda into the main search index.
17
search quality highlights: January (Google)
Google’s
January Search Update: Panda In The Pipelines, Fresher Results, Date Detection
& More (SEL)
Ads Above
The Fold - January 19, 2012
Google
updated their page layout algorithms to devalue sites with too much ad-space
above the "fold". It was previously suspected that a similar factor
was in play in Panda. The update had no official name, although it was
referenced as "Top Heavy" by some SEOs.
Page
layout algorithm improvement (Google)
Pages With Too Many Ads “Above The Fold” Now Penalized By
Google’s “Page Layout” Algorithm (SEL)
Panda 3.2
- January 18, 2012
Google
confirmed a Panda data update, although suggested that the algorithm hadn't
changed. It was unclear how this fit into the "Panda Flux" scheme of
more frequent data updates.
Confirmed:
Google Panda 3.2 Update (SEW)
Google
Panda 3.2 Update Confirmed (SEL)
Search +
Your World - January 10, 2012
Google
announced a radical shift in personalization - aggressively pushing Google+
social data and user profiles into SERPs. Google also added a new,
prominent toggle button to shut off personalization.
Search,
plus Your World (Google)
Real-Life
Examples Of How Google’s “Search Plus” Pushes Google+ Over Relevancy (SEL)
January
30-Pack - January 5, 2012
Google
announced 30 changes over the previous month, including image search
landing-page quality detection, more relevant site-links, more rich snippets,
and related-query improvements. The line between an "algo update" and
a "feature" got a bit more blurred.
30
search quality highlights - with codenames! (Google)
Google
Announces “Megasitelinks,” Image Search Improvements & Better Byline Dates (SEL)
To Be Continued...
Resource http://www.seomoz.org/google-algorithm-change
