{"id":67530,"date":"2025-07-04T14:09:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T14:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/timeline-and-description-of-googles-updates-over-the-past-12-years\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T12:11:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T12:11:11","slug":"timeline-and-description-of-googles-updates-over-the-past-12-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/en\/timeline-and-description-of-googles-updates-over-the-past-12-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Timeline and description of Google\u2019s updates over the past 12 years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"wp-block-mt-blog-post-cover mt-blog-post-cover\"><div class=\"mt-blog-post-cover__inner page-container\"><div class=\"mt-blog-post-cover__text-container\"><p class=\"mt-blog-post-cover__tagline tagline\">Leadgenerering<\/p><p class=\"mt-blog-post-cover__date\">4. juli 2025<\/p><h1 class=\"mt-blog-post-cover__title\">Timeline and description of Google\u2019s updates over the past 12 years<\/h1><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">For all of you who have thought: \u201cI wonder what Google\u2019s core updates over the past 10 years have meant for SEO\u201d, look no further. We have created a timeline of all updates from the past 10 years, including names, descriptions, and whether the update is still relevant to you. Catalogued from newest to oldest. <\/p><\/div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1248\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Tidslinje-og-beskrivelse-af-de-sidste-12-aars-opdateringer-til-Google.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"object-fit:cover;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Tidslinje-og-beskrivelse-af-de-sidste-12-aars-opdateringer-til-Google.png 1248w, https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Tidslinje-og-beskrivelse-af-de-sidste-12-aars-opdateringer-til-Google-300x173.png 300w, https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Tidslinje-og-beskrivelse-af-de-sidste-12-aars-opdateringer-til-Google-1024x591.png 1024w, https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Tidslinje-og-beskrivelse-af-de-sidste-12-aars-opdateringer-til-Google-768x443.png 768w, https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Tidslinje-og-beskrivelse-af-de-sidste-12-aars-opdateringer-til-Google-600x346.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1248px) 100vw, 1248px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><\/section>\n<section\n    class=\"mt-blog-post-content mt-blog-post-content--has-table-of-contents mtSpacing-top-none mtSpacing-bottom-medium\"\n>\n    <div class=\"mt-blog-post-content__inner page-container\">\n        <div class=\"mt-blog-post-content__table-of-contents\">\n                                                <p class=\"mt-blog-post-content__table-of-contents-title\">\n                        Indhold\n                    <\/p>\n                                                    <a\n                        href=\"#searchlabs\"\n                        class=\"mt-blog-post-content__table-of-contents-item\"\n                    >\n                        2025 &#8211; AI Mode\n                    <\/a>\n                                    <a\n                        href=\"#overviews\"\n                        class=\"mt-blog-post-content__table-of-contents-item\"\n                    >\n                        2024 &#8211; AI Overviews\n                    <\/a>\n                                    <a\n                        href=\"#fakecontent\"\n                        class=\"mt-blog-post-content__table-of-contents-item\"\n                    >\n                        2024 &#8211; Explicit fake content\n                    <\/a>\n                                    <a\n                        href=\"#mum\"\n                        class=\"mt-blog-post-content__table-of-contents-item\"\n                    >\n                        2023 &#8211; MUM\n                    <\/a>\n                                    <a\n                        href=\"#helpfulcontent\"\n                        class=\"mt-blog-post-content__table-of-contents-item\"\n                    >\n                        2022 &#8211; Helpfull content\n                    <\/a>\n                                    <a\n                        href=\"#passageindexing\"\n                        class=\"mt-blog-post-content__table-of-contents-item\"\n                    >\n                        2021 &#8211; Passage indexing\n                    <\/a>\n                                    <a\n                        href=\"#coreweb\"\n                        class=\"mt-blog-post-content__table-of-contents-item\"\n                    >\n                        2021 &#8211; Core web vitals\n                    <\/a>\n                                    <a\n                        href=\"#bert\"\n                        class=\"mt-blog-post-content__table-of-contents-item\"\n                    >\n                        2019 &#8211; Bert\n                    <\/a>\n                                    <a\n                        href=\"#medic\"\n                        class=\"mt-blog-post-content__table-of-contents-item\"\n                    >\n                        2018 \u2013 <strong>Medic update<\/strong>\n                    <\/a>\n                                    <a\n                        href=\"#penguin4\"\n                        class=\"mt-blog-post-content__table-of-contents-item\"\n                    >\n                        2016 &#8211; Penguin 4.0\n                    <\/a>\n                                    <a\n                        href=\"#rankbrain\"\n                        class=\"mt-blog-post-content__table-of-contents-item\"\n                    >\n                        2015 &#8211; RankBrain\n                    <\/a>\n                                    <a\n                        href=\"#phantom2\"\n                        class=\"mt-blog-post-content__table-of-contents-item\"\n                    >\n                        2015 &#8211; Phantom 2\n                    <\/a>\n                                    <a\n                        href=\"#hummingbird\"\n                        class=\"mt-blog-post-content__table-of-contents-item\"\n                    >\n                        2013 &#8211; Hummingbird\n                    <\/a>\n                                    <a\n                        href=\"#fremtiden\"\n                        class=\"mt-blog-post-content__table-of-contents-item\"\n                    >\n                        Sp\u00e5dom om fremtiden\n                    <\/a>\n                                  <\/div>\n        <div class=\"mt-blog-post-content__items\">\n                            \n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"searchlabs\">2025 \u2013 AI Mode (Search Labs)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What happened?<\/strong><br\/>Interactive AI mode in search results, handling complex, multi-step queries with multimodal input.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Is it still relevant?<\/strong><br\/>Highly current, in testing \u2013 defining the future of search behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"fakecontent\"><strong>2024 \u2013 Explicit Fake Content Update<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What happened<\/strong>: <br\/>Targeting deepfake images\/videos \u2013 removes or demotes deepfakes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/><strong>Is it still relevant:<br\/><\/strong>Critical for credibility and media security. So yes, very <strong>relevant<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"overviews\">2024 \u2013 <strong>AI Overviews (formerly SGE)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What happened?<\/strong><br\/><a href=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/hvad-er-google\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"63362\">Google<\/a> began showing <a href=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/en\/what-are-google-ai-overviews\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"63273\">AI-generated answers<\/a> directly in the search results. The content comes from various sources, and the click-through rate on \u201cnormal\u201d results dropped. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/><strong>Is it still relevant?<\/strong><br\/>It <em>will<\/em> be relevant \u2013 in a big way. It changes the game for how you get found. <a href=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/hvad-er-strukturerede-data\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"64242\">Structured data<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/en\/what-is-semantic-seo\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"63582\">semantic<\/a> depth are the way in. Not keyword stuffing and clickbait.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Read \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/en\/how-to-rank-in-google-ai-overviews\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"63227\">how to rank in Google AI Overviews<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"949\" height=\"412\" src=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Nyhedsbrev-Google-AI-Overview.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-63316\" srcset=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Nyhedsbrev-Google-AI-Overview.png 949w, https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Nyhedsbrev-Google-AI-Overview-300x130.png 300w, https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Nyhedsbrev-Google-AI-Overview-768x333.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 949px) 100vw, 949px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"spamupdate\">2023\u201324 \u2013 <strong>Spam Updates &amp; Link Fatigue<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What happened?<\/strong><br\/>Google began seriously deprioritising manipulative <a href=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/hvad-er-backlinks-og-hvorfor-er-de-vigtige\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"64229\">links<\/a> and affiliate sites with thin content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/><strong>Is it still relevant?<\/strong><br\/>Yes. Links still work, but it is <em>not<\/em> the goldmine it used to be. Organic authority beats link spamming any day.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"736\" src=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Bliv-valideret-udefra-1024x736.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-62747\" srcset=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Bliv-valideret-udefra-1024x736.png 1024w, https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Bliv-valideret-udefra-300x216.png 300w, https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Bliv-valideret-udefra-768x552.png 768w, https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Bliv-valideret-udefra.png 1848w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"mum\">2023 \u2013 <strong>MUM (Multitask Unified Model)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What happened?<\/strong><br\/>Google took BERT, multiplied it by 1,000, and added images, video, and contextual understanding across languages and formats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/><strong>Is it still relevant?<\/strong><br\/>Yes \u2013 MUM is an important building block in Google\u2019s AI Overviews and multimodal understanding. This means, among other things, that Google increasingly does <em>not<\/em> need your keyword \u2013 it understands what people mean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"helpfulcontent\">2022 \u2013 <strong>Helpful Content Update<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What happened?<\/strong><br\/>Google began rewarding pages that actually <em>help the user<\/em> \u2013 and penalising content written \u201cfor SEO\u2019s sake\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/><strong>Is it still relevant?<\/strong><br\/>100%. It is a common thread in everything <a href=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/hvad-er-google\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"63362\">Google<\/a> does now. If your site is not made for the user, but merely to rake in traffic for yourself, you will be disregarded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Read \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/skriv-til-mennesker-og-soegemaskiner\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"64362\">Write for your users and the search engines<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"720\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 772 \/ 720;\" width=\"772\" autoplay=\"\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Lixtal-square.mp4\" playsinline=\"\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"passageindexing\">2021 \u2013 <strong>Passage Indexing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What happened?<\/strong><br\/>Google could now index <em>parts<\/em> of a page \u2013 e.g., a specific section, not just the entire article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/><strong>Is it still relevant?<\/strong><br\/>Yes, especially for long guides. It means that even small sections can rank if they match a search query precisely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"664\" src=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Brug-tydelige-overskrifter.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-63233\" srcset=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Brug-tydelige-overskrifter.png 960w, https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Brug-tydelige-overskrifter-300x208.png 300w, https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Brug-tydelige-overskrifter-768x531.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"coreweb\">2021 \u2013 <strong>Page Experience &amp; Core Web Vitals<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What happened?<\/strong><br\/>Google began taking user experience more seriously: <a href=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/din-hjemmesides-ma-ikke-vaere-langsom\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"1440\">speed<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/3-hurtige-til-mobiloptimering\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"15366\">mobile-friendliness<\/a>, stability, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/hvad-er-core-web-vitals\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"63427\">Read more about Core Web Vitals here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/><strong>Is it still relevant?<\/strong><br\/>Partly. It matters, but it is not everything. Fast pages do not automatically win \u2013 but they are <em>not ruled out<\/em> due to poor performance.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Core-web-vitals-2-819x1024-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-63239\" srcset=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Core-web-vitals-2-819x1024-1.png 819w, https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Core-web-vitals-2-819x1024-1-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Core-web-vitals-2-819x1024-1-768x960.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"bert\">2019 \u2013 <strong>BERT<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What happened?<\/strong><br\/>Another AI update. BERT made Google better at understanding context in sentences. For example, the difference between \u201cbank agreement\u201d and \u201cagreement with the bank\u201d.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/><strong>Is it still relevant?<\/strong><br\/>Yes, but it has become part of the package. You do not need to \u201coptimise for BERT\u201d \u2013 you simply need to write naturally and precisely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"medic\">2018 \u2013 <strong>Medic Update (E-A-T)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What happened?<\/strong><br\/>Google began placing more weight on expertise, trustworthiness, and authority \u2013 especially for health, finance, and lifestyle content (\u201cYour Money or Your Life\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/><strong>Is it still relevant?<\/strong><br\/>Yes. E-A-T has since been expanded to E-E-A-T (an extra E for experience) and applies more broadly than just medical content today. It is about: Can people trust what you say?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"736\" src=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Byg-synlig-ekspertise-som-Google-og-AI-kan-genkende-1024x736-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-63269\" srcset=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Byg-synlig-ekspertise-som-Google-og-AI-kan-genkende-1024x736-1.png 1024w, https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Byg-synlig-ekspertise-som-Google-og-AI-kan-genkende-1024x736-1-300x216.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"penguin4\"><strong>2016 \u2013 Penguin 4.0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What happened?<br\/><\/strong>Real-time integration into the core system; filters out spam links without penalising entire domains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Is it still relevant?<br\/><\/strong>It is part of the core\u2019s link evaluation, so it is still VERY relevant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"rankbrain\">2015 \u2013 <strong>RankBrain<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What happened?<\/strong><br\/>Machine learning becomes part of the algorithm. RankBrain helps Google understand new searches and intent \u2013 even if the query has never been seen before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/><strong>Is it still relevant?<\/strong><br\/>Absolutely. It was Google\u2019s first major AI-driven component, and it laid the foundation for everything that came after. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"phantom2\">2015 \u2013 Phantom 2 (quality update)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What happened<\/strong>:<br\/>Focus on demoting pages with low-quality content, especially thin content or over-optimised ads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Is it still relevant:<br\/><\/strong>Partly still relevant. It introduced quality signals that are still used in the core algorithm.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"hummingbird\">2013 \u2013 <strong>Hummingbird<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What happened?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Google moved from matching keywords to understanding the <em>meaning<\/em> behind them. Before: \u201cshoes sale\u201d. After: \u201cwhere can I find good men\u2019s shoes on sale?\u201d.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/><strong>Is it still relevant?<\/strong><br\/>Yes. It was the start of semantic search and the whole \u201cwrite for people\u201d movement in <a href=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/hvad-er-seo\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"63330\">SEO<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"fremtiden\">Where is Google heading (Maja\u2019s crystal ball)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now we have to do a bit of guessing, but my honest conclusion is:<br\/>Google is no longer a search engine. It is an <em>information engine<\/em> that tries to understand what people <em>mean<\/em> \u2013 not just what they type. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So if you still think you can \u201cgame\u201d your way to results, you have misunderstood the entire direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Write better. Create real value. Think in terms of the user\u2019s needs.<\/strong><br\/>And yes \u2013 keep your technical foundation in order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then Google will understand you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These core principles have stood the test of time across all updates. Google is trying to eliminate all manipulative tactics and promote a strong user journey, customer experience, and high-quality content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Brief summary of the updates and their focus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Year<\/th><th>Update<\/th><th>Description<\/th><th>Focus area<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>2013<\/td><td>Hummingbird<\/td><td>Understood the intent behind searches, not just keywords<\/td><td>Semantics &amp; intent<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2015<\/td><td>Phantom 2<\/td><td>Demotion of pages with low-quality content<\/td><td>Semantics and intent<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2015<\/td><td>RankBrain<\/td><td>Machine learning to interpret new searches<\/td><td>AI &amp; user intent<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2016<\/td><td>Penguin 4.0<\/td><td>Filters out spam links without penalising entire domains.<\/td><td>Links and authority<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2018<\/td><td>Medic Update (E-A-T)<\/td><td>Focus on expertise, authority, and trustworthiness \u2013 especially in YMYL content<\/td><td>Authority &amp; trustworthiness<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2019<\/td><td>BERT<\/td><td>Understanding context in searches with NLP<\/td><td>Semantics &amp; context<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2021<\/td><td>Page Experience \/ Core Web Vitals<\/td><td>User experience (speed, stability, mobile-friendliness)<\/td><td>UX &amp; performance<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2021<\/td><td>Passage Indexing<\/td><td>Indexes specific sections \u2013 not only entire pages<\/td><td>Content depth<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2022<\/td><td>Helpful Content Update<\/td><td>Devalues content written \u201cfor Google\u201d rather than for people<\/td><td>User focus &amp; quality<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2023<\/td><td>MUM<\/td><td>AI model with multimodal input (text, image, language understanding)<\/td><td>AI &amp; context<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2023-24<\/td><td>Spam Updates &amp; link devaluation<\/td><td>Focus on downplaying manipulated links and thin affiliate content<\/td><td>Link quality &amp; content<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2024<\/td><td>Explicit Fake Content<\/td><td>Removes or demotes deepfakes<\/td><td>Fake content production<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2024<\/td><td>AI Overviews<\/td><td>Google generates answers itself based on AI and multiple sources<\/td><td>AI &amp; information extraction<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2025<\/td><td>AI Mode<\/td><td>Interactive AI mode in search results<\/td><td>AI search results<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n                                            <\/div>\n        <div class=\"mt-blog-post-content__small-related-posts\">\n                                <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For all of you who have thought: <em>\u201cI wonder what Google\u2019s core updates over the past 10 years have meant for SEO\u201d<\/em>, look no further. <strong>We have created a timeline of all updates from the past 10 years<\/strong>, including names, descriptions, and whether the update is still relevant to you. Catalogued from newest to oldest. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67531,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[396,390],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-data-insights","category-lead-generation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Timeline and description of Google\u2019s updates over the past 12 years - Morningtrain<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We have created a timeline of all updates from the past 10 years, including names, descriptions, and whether the update is still relevant to you.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/en\/timeline-and-description-of-googles-updates-over-the-past-12-years\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Timeline and description of Google\u2019s updates over the past 12 years - Morningtrain\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We have created a timeline of all updates from the past 10 years, including names, descriptions, and whether the update is still relevant to you.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/en\/timeline-and-description-of-googles-updates-over-the-past-12-years\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Morningtrain\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-04T14:09:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-17T12:11:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Tidslinje-og-beskrivelse-af-de-sidste-12-aars-opdateringer-til-Google.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1248\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Morningtrain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Morningtrain\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/en\/timeline-and-description-of-googles-updates-over-the-past-12-years\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/en\/timeline-and-description-of-googles-updates-over-the-past-12-years\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Morningtrain\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/95ca11b85ef369eb175acec694b8f213\"},\"headline\":\"Timeline and description of Google\u2019s updates over the past 12 years\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-04T14:09:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-17T12:11:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/en\/timeline-and-description-of-googles-updates-over-the-past-12-years\/\"},\"wordCount\":1032,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/en\/timeline-and-description-of-googles-updates-over-the-past-12-years\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Tidslinje-og-beskrivelse-af-de-sidste-12-aars-opdateringer-til-Google.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Data insights\",\"Lead generation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/en\/timeline-and-description-of-googles-updates-over-the-past-12-years\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/morningtrain.dk\/en\/timeline-and-description-of-googles-updates-over-the-past-12-years\/\",\"name\":\"Timeline and description of Google\u2019s updates over the past 12 years - 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