While Google updates used to have cute names like “Panda,” “Penguin,” or “Hummingbird,” Google is now simplifying the terminology of its updates so that you know straight away what an update is about.
The updates that have given us SEO experts nightmares, especially in the last few years, have been the Product Reviews Updates , Spam Updates , the Page Experience Update , and—very generally—the so-called Google Core Updates . The names already reveal what they include: Product Reviews, Spam, Page Experience, and core updates.
Of particular interest to SEOs and content marketing managers were last year's Helpful band data Content Updates , which sought to rank original, value-added content high, while penalizing poor content. Google once again emphasized the goal of content marketing to create high-quality, value-added content.
Google update content marketing
The Google Updates 2023 and 2022 at a glance
Especially in the second half of last year and the first half of 2023, there were several significant updates to the Google algorithm that disrupted the SERPs of numerous websites. Below, we give you a chronological rundown of the Google algorithm updates last year:
July 2022 – Product Reviews Update
Almost a year ago (as of July 2023), Google released an update that focused primarily on Google's review system and less on the search results themselves. The goal was to improve the quality of content for product reviews. Although the update was small, it did have some impact on the ranking of so-called rich snippets , which are displayed outside of the SERPs in Google searches.
September 2022 – Google Core Update
Shortly after the July update, Google will release the second major core update of the year in mid-September 2022, following the May core update. The update's rollout began on September 12 and lasted about two weeks.
In this fundamental update, Google has primarily adapted its algorithm to the fluctuating search intent of users. A significant ranking factor for this update appears to be general world events, according to which search intent can change significantly—for example, during the coronavirus pandemic or since the war in Ukraine.
One example cited by SISTRIX in its blog article on the September 2022 Google Core Update is the sharp increase in the visibility of the German Federal Ministry of Defense: With the Core Update, the site's visibility increased by 50% – presumably due to the increased demand for content related to the Bundeswehr and defense:
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