Google Algorithm Update: Types, Timing and What to Do

In SEO, a Google algorithm update is a change to the algorithms and ranking systems of Google Search that affects how results are ordered. It is unrelated to software updates for Chrome, Android or Pixel phones, which often share the same search term. Google changes its systems continuously and announces larger updates publicly.

At a glance

Type: Core updates, spam updates, updates to specific systems
Core updates: several times a year (per Google)
Started: September 24, 2026 (September 2026 spam update, latest entry)
Completed: October 8, 2026
Confirmed by: Google Search Status Dashboard
Docs: Google: A guide to Google Search ranking systems

Last checked: October 8, 2026

What types of Google updates are there?

Google separates its ranking systems, the technology that produces results, from updates, which are improvements to those systems it chooses to announce. The announced updates fall into a few groups:

Core updates are broad changes to Google’s core systems. Google says they happen several times a year.
Spam updates improve the systems that detect spam.
Updates to specific systems or surfaces, such as reviews or Google Discover.
Smaller changes ship constantly and are usually not announced.

Google lists announced updates on the Google Search Status Dashboard with the start and end of each rollout. Current names follow the pattern month, year and type, for example “May 2026 core update.” According to the dashboard, that rollout took 11 days and 21 hours.

Core and spam updates from November 2021 to today

November 3 to November 11, 2021November 2021 spam update.Source: status.search.google.com
November 17 to November 30, 2021November 2021 core update.Source: status.search.google.com
May 25 to June 9, 2022May 2022 core update.Source: status.search.google.com
September 12 to September 26, 2022September 2022 core update.Source: status.search.google.com
October 19 to October 21, 2022October 2022 spam update, global and for all languages.Source: status.search.google.com
December 14, 2022 to January 12, 2023December 2022 link spam update, global and for all languages.Source: status.search.google.com
March 15 to March 28, 2023March 2023 core update.Source: status.search.google.com
August 22 to September 7, 2023August 2023 core update.Source: status.search.google.com
October 4 to October 20, 2023October 2023 spam update, global, with improved coverage in languages including Turkish, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Hindi and Chinese.Source: status.search.google.com
October 5 to October 19, 2023October 2023 core update.Source: status.search.google.com
November 2 to November 28, 2023November 2023 core update.Source: status.search.google.com
March 5 to March 20, 2024March 2024 spam update.Source: status.search.google.com
March 5 to April 19, 2024March 2024 core update.Source: status.search.google.com
June 20 to June 27, 2024June 2024 spam update.Source: status.search.google.com
August 15 to September 3, 2024August 2024 core update.Source: status.search.google.com
November 11 to December 5, 2024November 2024 core update.Source: status.search.google.com
December 12 to December 18, 2024December 2024 core update.Source: status.search.google.com
December 19 to December 26, 2024December 2024 spam update, global and for all languages.Source: status.search.google.com
March 13 to March 27, 2025March 2025 core update.Source: status.search.google.com
June 30 to July 17, 2025June 2025 core update.Source: status.search.google.com
August 26 to September 22, 2025August 2025 spam update, global and for all languages.Source: status.search.google.com
December 11 to December 29, 2025December 2025 core update.Source: status.search.google.com
March 24 to March 25, 2026March 2026 spam update, global and for all languages.Source: status.search.google.com
March 27 to April 8, 2026March 2026 core update.Source: status.search.google.com
May 21 to June 2, 2026May 2026 core update.Source: status.search.google.com
June 24 to June 26, 2026June 2026 spam update, global and for all languages.Source: status.search.google.com
August 18 to August 21, 2026August 2026 spam update, global and for all languages.Source: status.search.google.com
September 24 to October 8, 2026September 2026 spam update, global and for all languages.Source: status.search.google.com

All core and spam updates listed in the Google Search Status Dashboard (Ranking) since November 2021. Each period runs from release to the reported end of the rollout; the dashboard uses US Pacific time. The dashboard does not list older updates; where Google dated them, they appear in the ranking systems timeline. Last checked: October 8, 2026.

Named updates from earlier years

Well-known names such as Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird refer to individual systems. Google’s ranking systems guide lists them as retired. Panda launched in 2011 and became part of the core systems in 2015. Penguin launched in 2012 and was folded into the core systems in 2016. The helpful content system, announced in 2022, became part of the core ranking systems in March 2024. None of them runs as a separate update today.

Google ranking systems 2010–2024

June 8, 2010Google announces the completion of Caffeine, its new web indexing system. Google says it delivers 50 percent fresher results than the previous index.Source: googleblog.blogspot.com
February 24, 2011Google announces a ranking change against low-quality and copied content that noticeably affects 11.8% of queries. Google later refers to the system by its nickname “Panda”.Source: googleblog.blogspot.com
November 3, 2011Google improves how it decides when to favour recent results. According to Google the change affects roughly 35 percent of searches and builds on Caffeine.Source: googleblog.blogspot.com
January 19, 2012Google launches a change that looks at page layout. Pages with little content and many ads above the fold may rank lower.Source: developers.google.com
April 24, 2012Google announces a change against webspam, later nicknamed “Penguin”. It affects about 3.1% of English queries and roughly 3% of German queries.Source: developers.google.com
August 2013Hummingbird, which Google describes as a major improvement to its overall ranking systems.Source: developers.google.com
2015Panda becomes part of the core ranking systems. Google now lists it among its retired systems.Source: developers.google.com
2015Google launches RankBrain, the first deep learning system used in Search. It relates the words in a query to real-world concepts.Source: blog.google
April 21, 2015Google starts rolling out the mobile-friendly update, boosting mobile-friendly pages in mobile search results. The industry unofficially calls it “Mobilegeddon”.Source: developers.google.com
September 23, 2016Penguin becomes part of the core algorithm and now works in real time. Before that, the list of affected sites was only refreshed periodically.Source: developers.google.com
2018Google introduces neural matching. The system helps relate queries to pages through underlying concepts.Source: blog.google
2018Launch of SpamBrain, Google’s AI-based spam prevention system. Google says it identified nearly six times more spam sites in 2021 than in 2020.Source: developers.google.com
October 25, 2019Google applies BERT to ranking and featured snippets. At launch it affects about one in ten English searches in the US.Source: blog.google
October 15, 2020Google presents passage ranking, which can assess individual passages of a page for a query. Google expects it to improve 7 percent of queries.Source: blog.google
April 8, 2021First product reviews update. It rewards in-depth product reviews and initially covers English-language reviews only.Source: developers.google.com
May 18, 2021Google introduces MUM, a model trained across 75 languages. Google calls it 1,000 times more powerful than BERT.Source: blog.google
July 26, 2021First link spam update. It aims to identify and nullify link spam across multiple languages and rolls out over two weeks.Source: developers.google.com
August 25 to September 9, 2022With the helpful content update, Google aims to show more original, helpful content written for people.Source: status.search.google.com
December 5, 2022 to January 12, 2023December 2022 helpful content update. Google says it improves the classifier and works globally in all languages.Source: status.search.google.com
April 12 to April 25, 2023The product reviews update becomes the reviews update. Google says it now covers reviews of products, services and other things.Source: status.search.google.com
September 14 to September 28, 2023September 2023 helpful content update. Google says it improves the classifier again.Source: status.search.google.com
November 8 to December 7, 2023November 2023 reviews update. As the reviews system is now improved at a regular pace, Google no longer posts future updates on the Status Dashboard.Source: status.search.google.com
March 2024The helpful content system becomes part of the core ranking systems. Google now lists it among its retired systems.Source: developers.google.com
March 5, 2024Three new spam policies against expired domain abuse, scaled content abuse and site reputation abuse. The March 2024 spam update launches the same day.Source: developers.google.com
May 5, 2024The site reputation abuse policy takes effect. Google had given site owners time to prepare since March.Source: developers.google.com
August 5, 2024In the US antitrust case against Google, the court describes Navboost as a signal that memorises which documents users click for a query. This is a court document, not a Google publication.Source: storage.courtlistener.com
November 19, 2024Google tightens the site reputation abuse policy. First-party involvement does not change the assessment when third-party content exploits the host site’s ranking signals.Source: developers.google.com

A selection, not a complete list. Core and spam updates since November 2021 have their own timeline. Names such as Florida (2003), Pigeon (2014), Possum (2016), Fred (2017) and Medic (2018), as well as Payday Loan and EMD, come from the SEO industry. Their dates rest only on trade press reports and posts by Google employees on X; Google has not published a dated page about them. Last checked: October 8, 2026.

What to do after an update

Google recommends waiting at least a full week after a core update has finished before analyzing performance in Search Console, then comparing the period after the update with the period before. For significant drops, Google points site owners to its guidance on helpful, reliable, people-first content. Recovery can also happen between core updates.

Ruling out technical changes on the site during the same period makes it easier to attribute a traffic change to the update.

FAQ

What is the newest Google update? The Search Status Dashboard shows the latest announced update. As of October 8, 2026, the most recent entry is the September 2026 spam update, which started on September 24, 2026. According to the dashboard, the rollout was complete on October 8, 2026.

How often does Google update its algorithm? Core updates come several times a year, according to Google. Announced spam updates and many small, unannounced changes come on top.

How can I tell whether an update affected my site? A clear change in clicks and impressions in Search Console that coincides with a rollout is an indication. Seasonality, technical errors or changes to the site can produce similar curves, so the cause should be checked before drawing conclusions.

Sources

Google Search's core updates – Google Search Central (last updated 2025-12-10)developers.google.com
A guide to Google Search ranking systems – Google Search Central (last updated 2025-12-10)developers.google.com
Google Search Status Dashboard – Ranking incidentsstatus.search.google.com
September 2026 spam update – Google Search Status Dashboardstatus.search.google.com

Last updated: October 8, 2026