Why does Google update its algorithm?
While Google’s mission statement has undergone its own changes since the company was founded in 1998, the search engine has always had one goal:
Our mission is to organise the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.
Google's mission statement
Google’s job was a lot easier in 1998: there were only 2.5 million websites to sort through and return to users. At this time, the search engine determined positions in the Search Engine Result Page by ‘meta keywords’ placed on a page. Simple, but way too easy to manipulate.
That’s why Google has been constantly updating its algorithm over the years: to not only ensure it’s fulfilling the company’s mission statement, but also to prevent sites using manipulative practices (also known as black hat SEO) to overrun the search engine results page (SERP).
The evolution of the algorithm
Of course, with so many updates, it can be difficult to keep track of where the algorithm is right now. That’s why we’ve put together this timeline that shows all of the major updates since Google was first founded.
We’ll keep this up-to-date, so check back to see what changes, or follow Selesti on your favourite social media channel to stay up-to-date with the latest digital marketing news.