UPDATES
Ongoing till May 2021 - Google will update its algorithm to incorporate page experience as a ranking signal. The aim of this change is to factor in the user experience of pages being returned in the SERPs, rather than the traditional and more objective signals such as PageRank and on-page targeting that have been used historically.
Dec. 4, 2020
Google has confirmed a December broad core algorithm update. As usual with core updates, we expect the impact to be significant. Estimated time = None given.
November 17, 2020
Google Update November 2020 = higher than usual volatility.
Featured Updates
Here are some tools and other items currently being updated.
Google Algorithm
December Core Update
Core Vitals
Google Search Console
Data performance insights
Google Maps/My Business (Note: GMB and maps are more important, then posting on Facebook and social media top local rankings factor, provides visitor data)
Messaging capabilities to Maps and Search
Community feed
Street view images
Bing Places
New features for business listings
Bing Webmaster
Tools for insight/rankings
Joomla 4 (final beta)
Major update
Google partnership
Core Web Vitals
Web Vitals is an initiative by Google to provide unified guidance for quality signals that are essential to delivering a great user experience on the web.
Core Web Vitals are the subset of Web Vitals that apply to all web pages, should be measured by all site owners, and will be surfaced across all Google tools. Each of the Core Web Vitals represents a distinct facet of the user experience, is measurable in the field, and reflects the real-world experience of a critical user-centric outcome.
The metrics that make up Core Web Vitals will evolve over time. The current set for 2020 focuses on three aspects of the user experience—loading, interactivity, and visual stability.
Google Past Updates
- December 2020 broad core algorithm update
- *Vitals ongoing
- November 2020
- May 2020 Core Update
- January 2020 Core Update
- Google BERT Natural Language Processing Update
- September 2019 Core Update
- June 2019 Core Update
- March 2019 Core Update
- August 2018 Core Update aka Medic Update
- April 2018 Core Update
- March 2018 Core Update
- December 2017 Core Update
- Google Local August 2017 Hawk Update
- Google Fred Update – unconfirmed March 2017 update
- Google Local September 2016 Possum Update
- Google RankBrain Algorithm
- Google Mobile-Friendly Algorithm
- January 2018 Core Update
- Google Hummingbird - improvement in semantic search (Sep 26, 2013)
- Google Mobile Friendly Update
- Google Panda Update - reward high-quality websites and reduce low-quality websites
- Google Penguin Update - local search algorithm updates
- Google Pigeon Update - local search algorithm updates and Maps (July 24, 2014)
Who's in the Google SERP
Items that appear in Top 20 of Google (%)
TYPE | % in top 20 |
Featured snippet | 3.5% |
Local pack | 23.5% |
Shopping results | 36% |
Knowledge panel | 27% |
Top ads | 21% |