Google Algorithm Updates 2021 [Infographic]

The Google algorithm is a complex ranking system that helps Google search through trillions of pages on their search index, identify the most useful search results and present them according to their quality and relevance in a way that it best answers your search queries. Google algorithm updates are periodic improvements made to these procedures, or algorithms used to rank websites in search results. Every year Google makes hundreds of small improvements to its ranking algorithm below given in the infographics are the confirmed ones that came out in 2021.

Link Spam Updates — July 26, 2021

Google’s link spam update is the newest initiative in their fight to stop poor-quality content from ranking higher. This update was specifically rolled out to penalize websites that participate in building illegitimate links. Google had already clarified what type of links they consider to be legitimate and what type of links they consider to be illegitimate. The illegitimate links include paid links, affiliate links and sponsored guest posting.

July 2021 Broad Core Update — July 1, 2021

The summer broad core update was planned to be released as a two-part release and the first part of which was already released in June. The update took approximately two weeks to fully roll out. Similar to other broad core updates released before Google didn’t give any specifics on what the update focused on and asked sites that were negatively hit not to worry as their site would go back to normal after some time if there were no issues with the site.

Page Experience Update — June 25, 2021

Google’s page experience update introduced mobile usability, security, HTTPS usage, Ad experience, etc. into the core web vitals report which would be considered as a parameter to determine the ranking of the search results. The update was designed to benefit pages that offer great user experiences. But these sites did not experience drastic ranking changes as the update was designed to be a slow rollout.

June 2021 Broad Core Update — June 2, 2021

A few times in a year Google brings in an update that contains several important changes and improvements that can significantly enhance the user’s search experience. This summer update significantly affected websites having either thin content or offering advice on sensitive topics relating to finance, law, education, health, etc. Surprisingly the websites that benefitted were old and large websites that had been losing visibility for many years.

Product Reviews Update — April 8, 2021

The product reviews algorithm update was meant to reward reviews that were more descriptive and reflected in-depth research instead of thin and thin content that simply summarizes a bunch of products. The main purpose was to provide users with content that provides insightful analysis along with original research and is written by experts or enthusiasts who know the topic well.

Passage Indexing Update — February 10, 2021

A breakthrough in the Google Algorithm that not only lets Google index individual webpages, but also individual passages from within these webpages. The most relevant passage that best answers the query of the searcher from within these pages is then presented in the form of a featured snippet. This in turn helps the searcher to save time as he’s not required to scour through the relevant webpage to find what he’s searching for.

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