Google is the world’s most popular search major google algorithm updates engine by a large margin. Statista reports that as of October 2019, Google has a 92.18% share of the global search engine market. Why is Google so popular? Because it provides users with relevant and accurate results to their queries faster than any other search engine on the market.
But how does Google do this? How is it able to process over 63,000 searches per second and deliver relevant results almost instantly? The answer lies in its algorithms. In this blog post, we’re going to take a deep dive into the history and workings of Google algorithms so that you can be aware of how they work and how they might affect your website.
How Do Google Algorithms Work?
- Google algorithms are a set of complex rules that the search engine uses to determine which websites should rank for a given query. Google uses over 200 different signals to rank websites, with each signal carrying a different weight.
- Some of the most important ranking signals used by Google include things like link popularity, content quality, keyword density, site structure, and social signals. However, Google’s algorithms are constantly evolving, with new signals being added and old signals being removed or demoted in importance all the time.
- This constant evolution is necessary to ensure that the results returned by Google are always relevant and accurate. It also makes it very difficult for website owners and SEOs to game the system and achieve artificially high rankings for their sites.
A Brief History Of Google Algorithms
In the early days of Google, the company’s algorithms were very simple. The original PageRank algorithm only took into account one signal: links pointing to a website from other websites. Web pages with more links were given a higher ranking than those with fewer links.
However, this approach had some major flaws. For instance, it was very easy to manipulate results by simply buying links from low-quality websites or setting up link farms (websites created solely for the purpose of linking to other sites).
V2 Of The PageRank Algorithm: The Florida Update (2003)
In 2003, Google released an update to its PageRank algorithm dubbed “The Florida Update.” This update penalized websites that participated in manipulative link-building practices like link buying and link farms.
PageRank v3 (2013): Hummingbird
In 2013, Google made its biggest change to the way it ranks websites since 2003 with an update called “Hummingbird.” This update completely changed the way Google processes queries by shifting from keyword-based ranking to concept-based ranking.
With Hummingbird, Google started to focus on the meaning behind a query rather than the individual keywords themselves. This update allowed Google to provide more accurate results for queries that were longer and more complex than simple keyword-based queries.
Panda (2011): Quality Control For Content
In 2011, Google rolled out an update called “Panda” in an effort to crack down on low-quality content. With this update, Google started to penalize websites with thin or poor-quality content.
Conclusion
Google algorithms are constantly changing and evolving to ensure that users always receive relevant and accurate results to their queries. SEOs need to be aware of these changes in order to keep their websites visible in SERPs.
