
Everything you need to know for SEO
The information shown below is a text version of the SEO infographic shown above.
According to Google their mission is to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”.
To achieve this they update their search algorithm over 500 times a year (more than once a day).
As a content writer, webmaster or SEO expert it’s impossible to follow every update, however there are key trends in these updates that stand out telling you what you need to do to achieve a high ranking in Google both now and in the future. While the updates may be different, applying the same strategies will also help you with Bing, Yahoo and other search engines.
This infographic:
- Lists all the significant updates from 2010 – 2014
- Describes the major algorithm updates in detail
- Explores what the key trends are
- Provides a checklist for how to benefit from each algorithm
Major Google Algorithms
By far the 2 most important algorithm updates are Google Panda and Google Penguin.
Google PandaFirst introduced in February 2011, with ongoing updates, Panda aims to reduce the position of "low-quality" or "thin" sites. It penalises sites that:
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ChecklistPanda is part of a trend of algorithm updates towards valuing high-quality and in-depth content. To rank above your competitors in Google your site must:
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Google PenguinFirst introduced in April 2012, with ongoing updates, Penguin aims to penalise sites that use keyword stuffing or have bad links going to them. The following links to your site could get you penalised as a result of Penguin:
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ChecklistPenguin aims to motivate people towards creating quality content that others will spontaneously link to, or building natural links themselves. After Penguin you want to build links using:
If the link is relevant and would be considered useful by a human visitor, it’s likely to be considered useful by Google too! |
Payday LoanCertain searches like “Payday Loan” used to generate many spammy results. These updates target specific searches to make the results more helpful. |
ChecklistIs your site total spam or highly dodgy? If not, don’t worry about this update! If so, switch to a more ethical business. |
Google PigeonSince Google Pigeon was introduced in July 2014, results have been more tailored for different people based on their geographical location. |
ChecklistTo benefit from Google Pigeon, particularly if your main interest is local clients:
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Google HummingbirdThe Hummingbird algorithm update takes synonyms into accounts and tries to put the search query in context (e.g. “Hummingbird SEO” shows you results about the Google update, “Hummingbird flight” shows you results about how the bird flies. |
ChecklistIf previously you tried to use every possible synonym (equivalent, likeness, same meaning …) in your text, this is no longer necessary. For optimal SEO include only the most important keywords and only use synonyms if it doesn’t interfere with how well your text reads. |

Date |
Algorithm Update |
P |
P |
P |
17 October 2014 |
Penguin 3 |
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3 |
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21 October 2014 |
Pirate 2 |
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23 September 2014 |
Panda 4.1 |
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4.1 |
28 August 2014 |
Authorship Removed |
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24 July 2014 |
Pigeon |
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12 June 2014 |
Payday Loan 3 |
3 |
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19 May 2014 |
Panda 4 |
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4 |
16 May 2014 |
Payday Loan 2 |
2 |
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6 February 2014 |
Page Layout 3 |
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4 October 2013 |
Penguin 2.1 |
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2.1 |
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20 August 2013 |
Hummingbird |
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6 August 2013 |
In-depth Articles |
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11 June 2013 |
Payday Loan |
1 |
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22 May 2013 |
Penguin 2 |
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2 |
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October 2012 |
Page Layout 2 |
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September 2012 |
Exact Match Domain |
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July 2012 |
Link Warnings |
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April 2012 |
Penguin |
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1 |
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February 2012 |
Venice |
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January 2012 |
Ads Above The Fold |
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January 2012 |
Panda 3.2 |
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3.2 |
January 2012 |
Search + Your World |
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November 2011 |
Panda 3.1 |
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3.1 |
June 2011 |
Google+ launched |
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April 2011 |
Panda 2 |
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2 |
March 2011 |
The +1 Button |
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February 2011 |
Panda |
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1 |
December 2010 |
Social Signals |
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September 2010 |
Google Instant |
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June 2010 |
Caffeine |
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May 2010 |
May Day |
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April 2010 |
Google Places |
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The end result of all these Google algorithm updates and expected future ones is that you need quality content and plenty of it, both for your own site and as part of your link building.
Building links is a more sophisticated process and is now more like building a network of contacts. It’s therefore best to give it the attention it deserves.