ALL SEO UPDATES SINCE 2014 to 2021
Please note that there might have been additional updates since then. Here are some key SEO updates:
Mobile-First Indexing (2018-2021):
Google shifted its indexing to primarily use the mobile version of a website's content for ranking and indexing. This means that a website's mobile version is now the starting point for what Google includes in its index and how it ranks sites.
BERT Algorithm (2019):
Google introduced the Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) algorithm, which aims to better understand the context of words in a search query. This update focuses on improving the interpretation of complex search queries to provide more relevant results.
Page Experience Update (Core Web Vitals) (2021):
Google announced that starting from June 2021, page experience signals, including Core Web Vitals (metrics related to website speed and user experience), would be included in its ranking algorithm. This emphasizes the importance of providing a seamless and user-friendly experience.
Featured Snippets and Passage Indexing (2020):
Google started showing more "passages" from a page that are relevant to a user's query, even if they aren't a standalone snippet. This allows Google to better understand the context of smaller sections of content.
Google May 2020 Core Update:
This update aimed to improve the quality and relevance of search results. It caused notable fluctuations in rankings for some websites.
NoFollow Attribute Change (2019):
Google introduced new ways for website owners to indicate the nature of links to search engines using attributes like "rel=sponsored," "rel=ugc" (user-generated content), and "rel=nofollow." These changes provided more context about link types.
Google E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) Emphasis: While not a specific update, Google increasingly highlighted the importance of E-A-T in its Search Quality Rater Guidelines. This concept emphasizes that content from authoritative sources with expertise and trustworthiness is more likely to rank well.
Google's Mobile Speed Update (2018): This update focused on mobile page speed as a ranking factor, reinforcing the importance of optimizing mobile site performance.
HTTPS as a Ranking Signal (2014): Google started giving a slight ranking boost to secure websites using HTTPS. This helped encourage webmasters to adopt secure connections.
RankBrain (2015): An AI-based component of Google's algorithm that helps interpret user queries and improve search results by understanding context and intent.
These are just a few of the significant SEO updates that took place until September 2021. It's important to note that SEO is an ever-evolving field, and Google frequently makes updates to its algorithms to enhance the quality of search results. To stay current with the latest updates, it's recommended to follow industry-leading SEO blogs, attend conferences, and regularly check Google's official announcements.
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