Because “algo” is much cooler than “algorithm” and there aren’t enough infographics in the world (?) More info below graphic.
Panda AKA The Common Sense Update
2011 with many follow up updates
Google starts penalizing sites for keyword stuffing (getting as many keywords onto 1 page as possible), duplicate content, and thin (weak) content.
PENGUIN AKA THE A LITTLE OUT OF YOUR CONTROL UPDATE
2012
Google says “nu-uh” to suspicious or spammy-looking links. Webmasters step up their game to avoid anchor text manipulation, keep an eye on incoming link patterns, and disavow spammy links fast.
HUMMINGBIRD AKA THE GOOGLE’S GETTING SMARTER UPDATE
2012
Google search results begin showing pages that may not contain the exact keyword that was searched for. Machine learning starts picking up on user intent.
PIGEON AKA THE BLURRED LINES UPDATE
2014
Google tightens up its algorithm, making its local and core algorithms more in line with eachother than before.
MOBILE AKA “MOBILEGEDDON”
2012
Google makes the obvious announcement that more people are using their phones to search than ever before, and the unobvious announcement that they will penalize sites that are not mobile-friendly.
RANKBRAIN AKA HUMMINGBIRD 2.0
2014
Google’s algoirthm continues to smarten up for user intent, looking for relevance in a variety of keywords and concepts.
FRED AKA THE DOT DOT DOT…
March 2018
Suspicions arise that Google cracked down once again on thin-content sites — particularly blogs with loads of affiliate links. But if Google doesn’t confirm it, did it even really happen…?