History of Google Panda and Penguin Updates

Written by Nick Stamoulis

These days, when Google makes an algorithm update, it is part of the core updates. There was a time when this wasn’t the case, and algorithm updates were majorly disruptive, often causing penalties and a dramatic decrease in organic traffic. These issues still happen today, but not nearly to the same extent. Websites that adhere to Google’s guidelines stand the best chance of not really being impacted by the algorithm changes, and when there are changes, they aren’t always as dramatic.

The Panda and Penguin Updates, however, were fairly major and had a big impact on websites all over the world. Although it has been quite some time since they happened, these updates formed the basis of how the algorithms are today, as well as people’s search habits and also what are considered to be “best practices” in web development and digital marketing.

Here’s a look at the history of the Panda and Penguin algorithm updates:

About the Google Penguin Algorithm Update

The goal of penguin was to catch sites that were engaged in “spammy” activities. Generally speaking, these websites provided a low value to its readers, and those who stumbled on these pages were disappointed by the low quality of the writing and information. A lot of these sites also engaged in misdirection by using tactics such as stacking their site pages with keywords  that had nothing to do with the actual content in order to increase rankings and traffic. The update was designed to catch sites in the act and penalize them for engaging in bad techniques, such as keyword stuffing and building a low quality link portfolio.

In April of 2012, Google cracked down on this behavior by pushing out the Penguin Update. This was the first of many, with the last one taking place in 2016:

  • Penguin 1.0 – April 24, 2012
  • Penguin 1.1 – May 26, 2012
  • Penguin 1.2 – October 5, 2012
  • Penguin 2.0 – May 22, 2013
  • Penguin 2.1 – October 4, 2013
  • Penguin 3.0 – October 17, 2014
  • Penguin 3.1 – November 27, 2014
  • Penguin 3.2 – December 2, 2014
  • Penguin 3.3 – December 5, 2014
  • Penguin 3.4 – December 6, 2014
  • Penguin 4.0 – September 23, 2016

About the Google Panda Algorithm Update

The sole purpose of the Panda Update has been to better control the quality of search results. The general goal is to prevent thin, poorly written sites from achieving top rankings. This update also sought to reward those sites that had excellent, well written content by giving them the best rankings.

The first one took place in February of 2011 and the last one in July of 2015. Here’s a list of when all the updates took place:

  • Panda Update 1 (Panda 1.0) – February 24, 2011
  • Panda Update 2 (Panda 2.0) – April 11, 2011
  • Panda Update 3 – May 10, 2011
  • Panda Update 4 – June 16, 2011
  • Panda Update 5 – July 23, 2011
  • Panda Update 6 – August 12, 2011
  • Panda Update 7 – September 28, 2011
  • Panda Update 8 (Panda 3.0) – October 19, 2011
  • Panda Update 9 – November 18, 2011
  • Panda Update 10 – January 18, 2012
  • Panda Update 11 – February 27, 2012
  • Panda Update 12 – March 23, 2012
  • Panda Update 13 – April 19, 2012
  • Panda Update 14 – April 27, 2012
  • Panda Update 15 – June 9, 2012
  • Panda Update 16 – June25, 2012
  • Panda Update 17 – July 24, 2012
  • Panda Update 18 – August 20, 2012
  • Panda Update 19 – September 18, 2012
  • Panda Update 20 – September 27, 2012
  • Panda Update 21 – November 5, 2012
  • Panda Update 22 – November 21, 2012
  • Panda Update 23 – December 21, 2012
  • Panda Update 24 – January 22, 2013
  • Panda Update 25 – March 15, 2013
  • Panda Update 26 (Panda 4.0) – May 20, 2014
  • Panda Update 27 (Panda 4.1) – September 25, 2014
  • Panda Update 28 (Panda 4.2) – July 17, 2015

These updates were a vital part of our Internet search history. Today, core updates still do periodically occur, and the main thing is to make sure that your websites always diligence follow the guidelines laid out by Google. This will help prevent your websites from getting seriously impacted when an update does happen.

Categorized in: ,

LIKE AND SHARE THIS ARTICLE:



Watch How Brick Marketing Can Help Your Company:

Brick Marketing, a Boston-based digital marketing agency, specializes in SEO management, content marketing, social media management, digital ad management (PPC), email newsletter marketing, website development and more.

Contact Us for More Info


Digital Marketing Solutions Include:


Brands & Clients Brick Marketing Has Helped: