Knowledge hub · Reference
Google algorithm update history
Verified against official sources · Last checked 6 October 2026
Short answer
Google confirmed 37 ranking updates between February 2022 and September 2026, mostly broad core updates and spam updates. The most recent was the September 2026 spam update, which began on 2026-09-24. Every entry below links to Google’s official Search Status Dashboard.
- Core updates
- 15
- Spam updates
- 11
- Helpful content updates
- 3
- Reviews updates
- 6
- Other updates
- 2
What did Google update in 2026?
- Spam
September 2026 spam update
An update to Google's automated spam-detection systems aimed at demoting or removing pages that break its spam policies. Google status
- Spam
August 2026 spam update
An update to Google's automated spam-detection systems aimed at demoting or removing pages that break its spam policies. Google status
- Spam
June 2026 spam update
An update to Google's automated spam-detection systems aimed at demoting or removing pages that break its spam policies. Google status
- Core
May 2026 core update
A broad change to Google's core ranking systems that reassesses how content across the web is evaluated, so rankings can move up or down without any specific penalty. Google status
- Core
March 2026 core update
A broad change to Google's core ranking systems that reassesses how content across the web is evaluated, so rankings can move up or down without any specific penalty. Google status
- Spam
March 2026 spam update
An update to Google's automated spam-detection systems aimed at demoting or removing pages that break its spam policies. Google status
- Other
February 2026 Discover update
A core update for Google Discover feeds, launched first for English-language users in the US, rather than for regular web search. Google status
What did Google update in 2025?
- Core
December 2025 core update
A broad change to Google's core ranking systems that reassesses how content across the web is evaluated, so rankings can move up or down without any specific penalty. Google status
- Spam
August 2025 spam update
An update to Google's automated spam-detection systems aimed at demoting or removing pages that break its spam policies. Google status
- Core
June 2025 core update
A broad change to Google's core ranking systems that reassesses how content across the web is evaluated, so rankings can move up or down without any specific penalty. Google status
- Core
March 2025 core update
A broad change to Google's core ranking systems that reassesses how content across the web is evaluated, so rankings can move up or down without any specific penalty. Google status
What did Google update in 2024?
- Spam
December 2024 spam update
An update to Google's automated spam-detection systems aimed at demoting or removing pages that break its spam policies. Google status
- Core
December 2024 core update
A broad change to Google's core ranking systems that reassesses how content across the web is evaluated, so rankings can move up or down without any specific penalty. Google status
- Core
November 2024 core update
A broad change to Google's core ranking systems that reassesses how content across the web is evaluated, so rankings can move up or down without any specific penalty. Google status
- Core
August 2024 core update
A broad change to Google's core ranking systems that reassesses how content across the web is evaluated, so rankings can move up or down without any specific penalty. Google status
- Spam
June 2024 spam update
An update to Google's automated spam-detection systems aimed at demoting or removing pages that break its spam policies. Google status
- Spam
March 2024 spam update
An update to Google's automated spam-detection systems aimed at demoting or removing pages that break its spam policies. Google status
- Core
March 2024 core update
A core update released together with new spam policies that took about six weeks to finish rolling out, ending on April 19, 2024. Google status
What did Google update in 2023?
- Reviews
November 2023 reviews update
The last reviews update listed on the dashboard; Google said later improvements to this system would happen on an ongoing basis without separate announcements. Google status
- Core
November 2023 core update
A broad change to Google's core ranking systems that reassesses how content across the web is evaluated, so rankings can move up or down without any specific penalty. Google status
- Core
October 2023 core update
A broad change to Google's core ranking systems that reassesses how content across the web is evaluated, so rankings can move up or down without any specific penalty. Google status
- Spam
October 2023 spam update
An update to Google's automated spam-detection systems aimed at demoting or removing pages that break its spam policies. Google status
- Helpful content
September 2023 helpful content update
A refresh of the helpful content system, which looked for content written mainly to rank in search rather than to serve readers. Google status
- Core
August 2023 core update
A broad change to Google's core ranking systems that reassesses how content across the web is evaluated, so rankings can move up or down without any specific penalty. Google status
- Reviews
April 2023 reviews update
Widened the reviews system so it covers reviews of services and other things, not just products. Google status
- Core
March 2023 core update
A broad change to Google's core ranking systems that reassesses how content across the web is evaluated, so rankings can move up or down without any specific penalty. Google status
- Reviews
February 2023 product reviews update
An update to the systems that reward in-depth, first-hand review content over thin summaries of products or services. Google status
What did Google update in 2022?
- Spam
December 2022 link spam update
A global spam update aimed specifically at link spam, applied to all languages. Google status
- Helpful content
December 2022 helpful content update
A refresh of the helpful content system, which looked for content written mainly to rank in search rather than to serve readers. Google status
- Spam
October 2022 spam update
An update to Google's automated spam-detection systems aimed at demoting or removing pages that break its spam policies. Google status
- Reviews
September 2022 product reviews update
An update to the systems that reward in-depth, first-hand review content over thin summaries of products or services. Google status
- Core
September 2022 core update
A broad change to Google's core ranking systems that reassesses how content across the web is evaluated, so rankings can move up or down without any specific penalty. Google status
- Helpful content
August 2022 helpful content update
A refresh of the helpful content system, which looked for content written mainly to rank in search rather than to serve readers. Google status
- Reviews
July 2022 product reviews update
An update to the systems that reward in-depth, first-hand review content over thin summaries of products or services. Google status
- Core
May 2022 core update
A broad change to Google's core ranking systems that reassesses how content across the web is evaluated, so rankings can move up or down without any specific penalty. Google status
- Reviews
March 2022 product reviews update
An update to the systems that reward in-depth, first-hand review content over thin summaries of products or services. Google status
- Other
Page experience update for desktop
Brought the page experience ranking signals that already applied on mobile to desktop results as well. Google status