Friday, 18 January 2013
Google Algorithm Change History
Each year, Google changes its search algorithm up to 500 – 600
times. While most of these changes are minor, every few months Google
rolls out a “major” algorithmic update that affect search results in
significant ways.
For search marketers, knowing the dates of these Google updates can
help explain changes in rankings and organic website traffic. Below,
we’ve listed the major algorithmic changes that made the biggest impacts
on search. Understanding these updates can help with search engine
optimization.
2012 Updates
Panda #23 — December 21, 2012
Right before the Christmas
holiday, Google rolled out another Panda update. They officially called
it a "refresh", impacting 1.3% of English queries. This was a slightly
higher impact than Pandas #21 and #22.
Knowledge Graph Expansion — December 4, 2012
Google added Knowledge
Graph functionality to non-English queries, including Spanish, French,
German, Portuguese, Japanese, Russian, and Italian. This update was
"more than just translation" and added enhanced KG capabilities.
Panda #22 — November 21, 2012
After some mixed signals,
Google confirmed the 22nd Panda update, which appears to have been
data-only. This came on the heels of a larger, but unnamed update around
November 19th.
Panda #21 — November 5, 2012
Google rolled out their
21st Panda update, roughly 5-1/2 weeks after Panda #20. This update was
reported to be smaller, officially impacting 1.1% of English queries.
Page Layout #2 — October 9, 2012
Google announced an update
to its original page layout algorithm change back in January, which
targeted pages with too many ads above the fold. It's unclear whether
this was an algorithm change or a Panda-style data refresh.
Penguin #3 — October 5, 2012
After suggesting the next
Penguin update would be major, Google released a minor Penguin data
update, impacting "0.3% of queries". Penguin update numbering was
rebooted, similar to Panda - this was the 3rd Penguin release.
August/September 65-Pack — October 4, 2012
Google published their
monthly (bi-monthly?) list of search highlights. The 65 updates for
August and September included 7-result SERPs, Knowledge Graph expansion,
updates to how "page quality" is calculated, and changes to how local
results are determined.
Exact-Match Domain (EMD) Update — September 27, 2012
Google announced a change
in the way it was handling exact-match domains (EMDs). This led to
large-scale devaluation, reducing the presence of EMDs in the MozCast
data set by over 10%. Official word is that this change impacted 0.6% of
queries (by volume).
Panda #20 — September 27, 2012
Overlapping the EMD
update, a fairly major Panda update (algo + data) rolled out,
officially affecting 2.4% of queries. As the 3.X series was getting odd,
industry sources opted to start naming Panda updates in order (this was
the 20th).
Panda 3.9.2 (#19) — September 18, 2012
Google rolled out another
Panda refresh, which appears to have been data-only. Ranking flux was
moderate but not on par with a large-scale algorithm update.
Panda 3.9.1 (#18) — August 20, 2012
Google rolled out yet
another Panda data update, but the impact seemed to be fairly small.
Since the Panda 3.0 series ran out of numbers at 3.9, the new update was
dubbed 3.9.1.
7-Result SERPs — August 14, 2012
Google made a significant
change to the Top 10, limiting it to 7 results for many queries. Our
research showed that this change rolled out over a couple of days,
finally impacting about 18% of the keywords we tracked.
DMCA Penalty — August 10, 2012
Google announced that they
would start penalizing sites with repeat copyright violations, probably
via DMCA takedown requests. Timing was stated as "starting next week"
(8/13?).
An
update to our search algorithms (Google)
June/July 86-Pack — August 10, 2012
After a summer hiatus, the
June and July Search Quality Highlights were rolled out in one
mega-post. Major updates included Panda data and algorithm refreshes, an
improved rank-ordering function (?), a ranking boost for "trusted
sources", and changes to site clustering.
Panda 3.9 (#17) — July 24, 2012
A month after Panda 3.8,
Google rolled out a new Panda update. Rankings fluctuated for 5-6 days,
although no single day was high enough to stand out. Google claimed ~1%
of queries were impacted.
Link Warnings — July 19, 2012
In a repeat of
March/April, Google sent out a large number of unnatural link warnings
via Google Webmaster Tools. In a complete turn-around, they then
announced that these new warnings may not actually represent a serious
problem.
Panda 3.8 (#16) — June 25, 2012
Google rolled out another
Panda data refresh, but this appeared to be data only (no algorithm
changes) and had a much smaller impact than Panda 3.7.
Panda 3.7 (#15) — June 8, 2012
Google rolled out yet
another Panda data update, claiming that less than 1% of queries were
affect. Ranking fluctuation data suggested that the impact was
substantially higher than previous Panda updates (3.5, 3.6).
May 39-Pack — June 7, 2012
Google released their
monthly Search Highlights, with 39 updates in May. Major changes
included Penguin improvements, better link-scheme detection, changes to
title/snippet rewriting, and updates to Google News.
Penguin 1.1 (#2) — May 25, 2012
Google rolled out its
first targeted data update after the "Penguin" algorithm update. This
confirmed that Penguin data was being processed outside of the main
search index, much like Panda data.
Knowledge Graph — May 16, 2012
In a major step toward
semantic search, Google started rolling out "Knowledge Graph", a
SERP-integrated display providing supplemental object about certain
people, places, and things. Expect to see "knowledge panels" appear on
more and more SERPs over time. Also, Danny Sullivan's favorite Trek is
ST:Voyager?!
April 52-Pack — May 4, 2012
Google published details
of 52 updates in April, including changes that were tied to the
"Penguin" update. Other highlights included a 15% larger "base" index,
improved pagination handling, and a number of updates to sitelinks.
Panda 3.6 (#14) — April 27, 2012
Barely a week after Panda
3.5, Google rolled out yet another Panda data update. The implications
of this update were unclear, and it seemed that the impact was
relatively small.
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.
Panda 3.5 (#13) — April 19, 2012
In the middle of a busy
week for the algorthim, 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.
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.
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.
Panda 3.4 (#12) — 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.
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.
Panda 3.3 (#11) — 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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
Panda 3.2 (#10) — 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.
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)
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.
Over the pages of this document, you'll see segmentation of the search ranking algorithm into various components like "page-specific, link-level features," or "domain-level, keyword-agnostic features." These segments represent the different elements illustrated on the pie chart to the right. In each segment, you'll see three types of charts.
The last chart, Future of Search, is illustrated fully below and uses aggregated opinions to show the mean answers to specific questions about SEO tactics or predictions.
We hope that by opening access to this analysis (including the raw data here) to provide greater access to information about how search engines may rank documents and empower marketers to have both statistical and opinion-based data to help validate their own efforts. If you have feedback or suggestions, please leave them as comments at this blog post.
Thanks much!
Rand Fishkin, CEO, SEOmoz
Future of Search
Tuesday, 8 January 2013
A service provider that utilizes the practice of search engine optimization to increase the amount of visitors to a Web site by obtaining high-ranking placements in the search results page of search engines (SERP). SEO services help to ensure that a site is accessible to a search engine and improves the chances that the site will be found and ranked highly by the search engine. SEO service providers offer a wide range of packages and options for search engine optimization, ranging from one-time fees for smaller sites to monthly subscriptions for ongoing SEO efforts and support.

See related Webopedia term definitions including: website optimization, SEO PR, and Organic SEO.
Friday, 4 January 2013

SEO is an acronym for "search engine optimization" or "search engine optimizer." Deciding to hire an SEO is a big decision that can potentially improve your site and save time, but you can also risk damage to your site and reputation. Make sure to research the potential advantages as well as the damage that an irresponsible SEO can do to your site. Many SEOs and other agencies and consultants provide useful services for website owners, including:
- Review of your site content or structure
- Technical advice on website development: for example, hosting, redirects, error pages, use of JavaScript
- Content development
- Management of online business development campaigns
- Keyword research
- SEO training
- Expertise in specific markets and geographies.
Keep in mind that the Google search results page includes organic search results and often paid advertisement (denoted by the heading "Sponsored Links") as well. Advertising with Google won't have any effect on your site's presence in our search results. Google never accepts money to include or rank sites in our search results, and it costs nothing to appear in our organic search results. Free resources such asWebmaster Tools, the official Webmaster Central blog, and our discussion forum can provide you with a great deal of information about how to optimize your site for organic search.
Before beginning your search for an SEO, it's a great idea to become an educated consumer and get familiar with how search engines work. We recommend starting here:
If you're thinking about hiring an SEO, the earlier the better. A great time to hire is when you're considering a site redesign, or planning to launch a new site. That way, you and your SEO can ensure that your site is designed to be search engine-friendly from the bottom up. However, a good SEO can also help improve an existing site.
Some useful questions to ask an SEO include:
- Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?
- Do you follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines?
- Do you offer any online marketing services or advice to complement your organic search business?
- What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe? How do you measure your success?
- What's your experience in my industry?
- What's your experience in my country/city?
- What's your experience developing international sites?
- What are your most important SEO techniques?
- How long have you been in business?
- How can I expect to communicate with you? Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site, and provide detailed information about your recommendations and the reasoning behind them?
While SEOs can provide clients with valuable services, some unethical SEOs have given the industry a black eye through their overly aggressive marketing efforts and their attempts to manipulate search engine results in unfair ways. Practices that violate our guidelines may result in a negative adjustment of your site's presence in Google, or even the removal of your site from our index. Here are some things to consider:
- Be wary of SEO firms and web consultants or agencies that send you email out of the blue.Amazingly, we get these spam emails too:
"Dear google.com,I visited your website and noticed that you are not listed in most of the major search engines and directories..."Reserve the same skepticism for unsolicited email about search engines as you do for "burn fat at night" diet pills or requests to help transfer funds from deposed dictators. - No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a "special relationship" with Google, or advertise a "priority submit" to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through our Add URL page or by submitting a Sitemap and you can do this yourself at no cost whatsoever.
- Be careful if a company is secretive or won't clearly explain what they intend to do.Ask for explanations if something is unclear. If an SEO creates deceptive or misleading content on your behalf, such as doorway pages or "throwaway" domains, your site could be removed entirely from Google's index. Ultimately, you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire, so it's best to be sure you know exactly how they intend to "help" you. If an SEO has FTP access to your server, they should be willing to explain all the changes they are making to your site.
- You should never have to link to an SEO.Avoid SEOs that talk about the power of "free-for-all" links, link popularity schemes, or submitting your site to thousands of search engines. These are typically useless exercises that don't affect your ranking in the results of the major search engines -- at least, not in a way you would likely consider to be positive.
- Choose wisely.While you consider whether to go with an SEO, you may want to do some research on the industry. Google is one way to do that, of course. You might also seek out a few of the cautionary tales that have appeared in the press, including this article on one particularly aggressive While Google doesn't comment on specific companies, we've encountered firms calling themselves SEOs who follow practices that are clearly beyond the pale of accepted business behavior. Be careful.
- Be sure to understand where the money goes.While Google never sells better ranking in our search results, several other search engines combine pay-per-click or pay-for-inclusion results with their regular web search results. Some SEOs will promise to rank you highly in search engines, but place you in the advertising section rather than in the search results. A few SEOs will even change their bid prices in real time to create the illusion that they "control" other search engines and can place themselves in the slot of their choice. This scam doesn't work with Google because our advertising is clearly labeled and separated from our search results, but be sure to ask any SEO you're considering which fees go toward permanent inclusion and which apply toward temporary advertising.
- What are the most common abuses a website owner is likely to encounter?
- What are some other things to look out for?
- owns shadow domains
- puts links to their other clients on doorway pages
- offers to sell keywords in the address bar
- doesn't distinguish between actual search results and ads that appear on search results pages
- guarantees ranking, but only on obscure, long keyword phrases you would get anyway
- operates with multiple aliases or falsified WHOIS info
- gets traffic from "fake" search engines, spyware, or scumware
- has had domains removed from Google's index or is not itself listed in Google
One common scam is the creation of "shadow" domains that funnel users to a site by using deceptive redirects. These shadow domains often will be owned by the SEO who claims to be working on a client's behalf. However, if the relationship sours, the SEO may point the domain to a different site, or even to a competitor's domain. If that happens, the client has paid to develop a competing site owned entirely by the SEO.
Another illicit practice is to place "doorway" pages loaded with keywords on the client's site somewhere. The SEO promises this will make the page more relevant for more queries. This is inherently false since individual pages are rarely relevant for a wide range of keywords. More insidious, however, is that these doorway pages often contain hidden links to the SEO's other clients as well. Such doorway pages drain away the link popularity of a site and route it to the SEO and its other clients, which may include sites with unsavory or illegal content.
There are a few warning signs that you may be dealing with a rogue SEO. It's far from a comprehensive list, so if you have any doubts, you should trust your instincts. By all means, feel free to walk away if the SEO:
If you feel that you were deceived by an SEO in some way, you may want to report it.
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