Google Algorithm Updates 2026: Every Core and Spam Update Logged
Every Google core, spam, helpful content and reviews update since 2023, with Google's own dates and a clear next step for each.
Google algorithm updates are the ranking changes Google confirms on its Search Status Dashboard, and since 2023 it has confirmed 27 of them: core updates, spam updates, a helpful content update and reviews updates. The latest is the September 2026 spam update, which ran from 24 September to 8 October 2026.
This tracker logs every confirmed update with Google’s own dates, what changed and what you should do. Last updated 24 October 2026. Bookmark it and check back after each rollout.
What are Google algorithm updates?
Google algorithm updates are notable improvements to the automated systems that rank Google Search results, confirmed on the Google Search Status Dashboard, and they come in two main types: broad core updates several times a year and spam updates that sharpen detection systems such as SpamBrain, while thousands of smaller changes ship unannounced.
Google’s November 2023 Q&A says it shared 10 updates in 2021 and another 10 in 2022. If a rumoured “update” is not on the dashboard, Google has not confirmed it.
27confirmed ranking updates on the Google Search Status Dashboard from February 2023 to October 2026
45 dayslength of the March 2024 core update, the longest rollout in this log (dashboard)
19.5 hourslength of the March 2026 spam update, the shortest rollout (dashboard)
What is the latest Google update?
The latest Google update is the September 2026 spam update, which Google released on 24 September 2026 and marked complete as of 8 October 2026, applying globally and to all languages, while the latest Google core update is the May 2026 core update that ran from 21 May to 2 June 2026.
As of 24 October 2026, the dashboard lists no ranking update in progress.
India note: Google Search Central Live returns to Bengaluru on 30 October 2026. It is in person only and free. Applications closed on 15 October.
Google algorithm updates 2026: the full log
2026 has been a spam-heavy year so far: four spam updates, two core updates and a Discover-only core update. Dates follow the dashboard, which uses US Pacific time.
| Date started | Date completed | Update | What changed | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Sep 2026 | 8 Oct 2026 | September 2026 spam update | Spam systems update. Google says it applies globally and to all languages. | Check the Manual actions report, then review pages against the spam policies. |
| 30 Aug 2026 | Policy change | Site reputation abuse: EEA enforcement change | Site reputation manual actions stop applying to EEA searchers. No change outside the EEA, India included. | Keep auditing partner sections. Indian results still carry the penalty. |
| 18 Aug 2026 | 21 Aug 2026 | August 2026 spam update | Global spam update for all languages. Rolled out in about three days. | Compare clicks for 22 to 28 Aug with the week before 18 Aug. |
| 24 Jun 2026 | 26 Jun 2026 | June 2026 spam update | Global spam update for all languages. | Review scaled pages and expired domain projects first. |
| 15 Jun 2026 | Policy change | Back button hijacking enforcement | Back button hijacking became an explicit malicious practices violation (announced 13 Apr 2026). | Audit ad scripts and third-party libraries that rewrite browser history. |
| 21 May 2026 | 2 Jun 2026 | May 2026 core update | Broad core ranking update. Google flagged a rollout of up to 2 weeks. | Wait until 9 Jun, then compare weeks in Search Console. |
| 27 Mar 2026 | 8 Apr 2026 | March 2026 core update | Broad core ranking update. | Note the overlap with the spam update three days earlier when you diagnose drops. |
| 24 Mar 2026 | 25 Mar 2026 | March 2026 spam update | Global spam update. The fastest rollout on record: 19 hours, 30 minutes. | Check for manual actions and spam policy issues. |
| 5 Feb 2026 | 27 Feb 2026 | February 2026 Discover core update | Discover only, US English. More local, original content, less clickbait. | Check the Discover report. India gets it when Google expands it. |
Four spam updates in seven months is the story. If traffic dipped in June, August or late September 2026, start with the spam policies.
Which Google core updates rolled out in 2025?
Google rolled out three core updates in 2025, the March 2025 core update (13 to 27 March), the June 2025 core update (30 June to 17 July) and the December 2025 core update (11 to 29 December), plus one spam update from 26 August to 22 September, making 2025 the quietest year in this log.
| Date started | Date completed | Update | What changed | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Dec 2025 | 29 Dec 2025 | December 2025 core update | Broad core ranking update. Google flagged a rollout of up to 3 weeks. | Separate festive season demand from ranking loss before reacting. |
| 26 Aug 2025 | 22 Sep 2025 | August 2025 spam update | Global spam update for all languages, nearly four weeks long. | Review link schemes and scaled content. Lost link value does not come back. |
| 30 Jun 2025 | 17 Jul 2025 | June 2025 core update | Broad core ranking update. Rollout of up to 3 weeks. | Compare top pages and queries before 30 Jun and after 24 Jul. |
| 13 Mar 2025 | 27 Mar 2025 | March 2025 core update | Broad core ranking update. Rollout of up to 2 weeks. | Run Google’s self-assessment on the pages that fell furthest. |
What changed in the 2024 Google updates?
The 2024 Google updates brought the biggest structural change in this log, because the March 2024 core update folded the helpful content system into core ranking and Google added three spam policies against expired domain abuse, scaled content abuse and site reputation abuse, followed by four core and three spam updates in total.
Google says helpfulness is no longer judged by one signal or system, so no standalone helpful content update has shipped since September 2023.
| Date started | Date completed | Update | What changed | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Dec 2024 | 26 Dec 2024 | December 2024 spam update | Global spam update for all languages, one day after the December core update ended. | Check manual actions before blaming the core update. |
| 12 Dec 2024 | 18 Dec 2024 | December 2024 core update | Broad core ranking update, the second in two months. | Treat November and December as one window when you compare data. |
| 19 Nov 2024 | Policy change | Site reputation abuse clarification | Google said no amount of first-party involvement makes third-party content exempt when it exploits the host site’s signals. | Move or noindex coupon, casino and partner sections that ride your domain. |
| 11 Nov 2024 | 5 Dec 2024 | November 2024 core update | Broad core ranking update. | Wait a full week after 5 Dec before comparing. |
| 15 Aug 2024 | 3 Sep 2024 | August 2024 core update | Google said it used creator feedback and aims to surface small, independent sites. | Read our August 2024 core update breakdown. |
| 20 Jun 2024 | 27 Jun 2024 | June 2024 spam update | Spam systems update, rollout of up to 1 week. | Review spam policies and the Manual actions report. |
| 5 May 2024 | Policy change | Site reputation abuse policy takes effect | Third-party pages published to exploit a host site’s ranking signals became a spam violation. | Block such sections from Search or bring them under real editorial control. |
| 5 Mar 2024 | 20 Mar 2024 | March 2024 spam update | Launched with three new policies: expired domain abuse, scaled content abuse and site reputation abuse. | Stop mass-producing pages to rank, whether AI or humans write them. |
| 5 Mar 2024 | 19 Apr 2024 | March 2024 core update | Multiple core systems changed; the helpful content system joined core ranking. Took 45 days. | Fix whole-site helpfulness. There is no separate HCU now. |
Do not misread August 2024: Google logged a separate ranking issue from 15 to 20 August 2024 and said it was unrelated to the core update. Exclude those five days from any comparison.
Which Google updates rolled out in 2023?
Google confirmed nine updates in 2023, made up of four core updates in March, August, October and November, one spam update in October, the September helpful content update and three reviews updates, after which Google stopped announcing reviews system changes because they now happen on an ongoing basis.
| Date started | Date completed | Update | What changed | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Nov 2023 | 7 Dec 2023 | November 2023 reviews update | Last announced reviews update. Changes now ship unannounced. | Add first-hand testing, original photos and clear comparisons to review pages. |
| 2 Nov 2023 | 28 Nov 2023 | November 2023 core update | Improved a different core system from the October update. | Treat October and November 2023 as separate events in your annotations. |
| 5 Oct 2023 | 19 Oct 2023 | October 2023 core update | A bug misapplied it to Discover until Google fixed it on 31 Oct. | If Discover traffic moved in October 2023, check it against the fix date. |
| 4 Oct 2023 | 20 Oct 2023 | October 2023 spam update | Targeted cloaking, hacked, auto-generated and scraped spam, with better Hindi coverage. | Hindi publishers: check for scraped or auto-translated pages. |
| 14 Sep 2023 | 28 Sep 2023 | September 2023 helpful content update | Improved the helpful content classifier. The last standalone HCU. | Cut or rewrite search-first content that adds nothing new. |
| 22 Aug 2023 | 7 Sep 2023 | August 2023 core update | Broad core ranking update. | Compare a week after 7 Sep with the week before 22 Aug. |
| 12 Apr 2023 | 25 Apr 2023 | April 2023 reviews update | Reviews system widened from products to reviews of products, services and things. | Service businesses with review content: show real experience. |
| 15 Mar 2023 | 28 Mar 2023 | March 2023 core update | Broad core ranking update. | Benchmark only. Data this old matters for long-term trends. |
| 21 Feb 2023 | 7 Mar 2023 | February 2023 product reviews update | Product reviews update in 11 languages including English, Spanish and German. | Make sure product reviews show hands-on use. |
How often does Google release core updates?
Google releases core updates several times a year, and the Search Status Dashboard shows two to four per year since 2023, with four in 2023, four in 2024, three in 2025 and two so far in 2026, each described by Google as a broad change that does not target specific sites.
| Year | Core updates | Spam updates | Other confirmed updates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to 24 Oct) | 2 | 4 | 1 Discover core update |
| 2025 | 3 | 1 | None |
| 2024 | 4 | 3 | None |
| 2023 | 4 | 1 | 1 helpful content, 3 reviews |
Core updates have landed in March every year in this log. Google says it tries to avoid late November to mid-December, yet it shipped December core updates in 2024 and 2025. Indian D2C brands should expect one to overlap year-end sale data.
Search Console changes: what launched in 2025 and 2026?
Google Search Console launched ten notable features across 2025 and 2026 on the Search Central blog, including custom annotations, a branded queries filter, query groups, weekly views, generative AI performance reports and platform properties, and each one makes it easier to tie a traffic change to a specific Google update.
| Launched | Feature | What it does | Use it for updates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Apr 2025 | Hourly data in the Search Analytics API | Up to 10 days of hourly data via the API | Spot the hour a rollout hits |
| 30 Jun 2025 | New Search Console Insights | Insights moved into Search Console, with trending pages and queries | Quick view of what moved |
| 27 Oct 2025 | Query groups | AI groups similar queries in Insights (large sites only) | See which topics lost clicks |
| 17 Nov 2025 | Custom annotations | Add a dated note of up to 120 characters on performance charts | Mark every update start and end date |
| 20 Nov 2025 | Branded queries filter | Splits branded and non-branded queries; all eligible sites from 11 Mar 2026 | Non-branded loss is the real update signal |
| 4 Dec 2025 | AI-powered configuration | Builds filters and comparisons from a plain-language request | Set up before and after comparisons fast |
| 10 Dec 2025 | Weekly and monthly views | Changes chart granularity from daily | Removes weekday noise from comparisons |
| 3 Jun 2026 | Generative AI performance reports | Impressions in AI Overviews and AI Mode; all sites from 31 Aug 2026 | Separate AI visibility from blue-link loss |
| 7 Jul 2026 | Platform properties | Search performance for Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube profiles | Check if social posts gained what your site lost |
| 24 Sep 2026 | Multimodal search filter | Data for Lens, Circle to Search and image searches | Track visual search traffic separately |
For setup steps on several of these, read our guide to Google Search Console features most marketers never use.
How do you read a Google update announcement?
Read a Google update announcement by checking three things on the dashboard incident, namely the update type, the rollout window Google expects and the guidance page it links to, because the type tells you which fix applies and the completion date tells you when to start measuring.
- Core update: broad, not targeted, no single fix.
- Spam update: detection improved. Review the spam policies.
- Policy change: a new rule, often enforced weeks later. Treat it as a deadline.
How do you tell if a Google update hit your site?
To tell if a Google update hit your site, wait until the dashboard marks the rollout complete plus one more full week, then compare that week in the Search Console Performance report with a week before the rollout began, because a large and sustained drop across top pages points to the update.
That is Google’s documented method. Here it is with the new tools added.
- Note the dates. Open the Search Status Dashboard and copy the start and end dates from the table above.
- Annotate the chart. In Performance, right-click the chart and add annotations for both dates.
- Set the comparison. Click Date, choose Compare, and set the week starting seven days after completion against the week before the start.
- Filter out brand. Apply the branded queries filter and select Non-branded. Branded demand swings with your marketing, not with Google.
- Sort by difference. On the Pages and Queries tabs, sort by clicks difference. Note which pages dropped and by how many positions.
- Split by search type. Check Web, Image, Video and News separately, then the Discover report.
- Check Manual actions. Open Security and Manual actions. A spam manual action comes with a notice there.
Google’s rule of thumb: a drop from position 2 to 4 needs no drastic action. A drop from position 4 to 29 needs a deeper assessment.
What to do when a Google update hits
Your response depends on the update type. Match it first, then act.
| Update type | First check | Fix | Recovery timeline per Google |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core update | Top losing pages vs competitors now ranking | Improve content in meaningful ways; delete only as a last resort | Days to several months; possibly the next core update |
| Spam update | Manual actions report and spam policies | Remove the violation, then request reconsideration | Months, as systems learn the site complies |
| Link spam | Paid or exchanged links | Stop buying links | Lost link benefit cannot be regained |
| Site reputation abuse | Third-party sections on your domain | Move to a new domain; do not redirect old URLs | After a reconsideration request |
For core updates, Google warns against quick fixes such as stripping a page element because someone called it bad for SEO. Rewrite or restructure for readers instead.
Not every drop is an update. Run the checks in our guide on why your website is not ranking and a technical SEO audit before you blame Google. For the quality side, our piece on E-E-A-T covers what reviewers look for.
A core update does not punish your site. It re-ranks the web, and someone else answered the query better.
New to the basics? Start with our complete SEO guide. Losing clicks to AI Overviews rather than to an update? Read our AI search optimization guide and check the generative AI report.
PingTalks verdict
Google’s update cadence has shifted. Core updates slowed to two or three a year, while spam updates sped up to four in 2026 alone. For Indian publishers and SaaS sites scaling pages with AI, scaled content abuse is now the bigger risk than any core update. Build fewer, better pages and log every update date in Search Console the day it starts.
What to do now
- Add annotations in Search Console for every 2025 and 2026 update in this tracker.
- Run the non-branded week-over-week comparison for the May 2026 core update and the September 2026 spam update.
- Open the Manual actions report today, even if traffic looks fine.
- Audit any partner, coupon or sponsored section against the site reputation abuse policy.
- Remove scripts that hijack the back button; enforcement started 15 June 2026.
- Subscribe to the Search Status Dashboard RSS feed so the next update reaches you first.
Frequently asked questions
When was the last Google core update?
The last Google core update is the May 2026 core update. It started on 21 May 2026 and Google marked it complete as of 2 June 2026. The latest update of any type is the September 2026 spam update, completed on 8 October 2026.
Is a Google update rolling out right now?
As of 24 October 2026, the Google Search Status Dashboard lists no ranking update in progress. Check the dashboard or subscribe to its RSS feed, because Google posts every notable update there when it starts.
Does the helpful content update still exist?
No. Google’s ranking systems guide lists the helpful content system as retired: in March 2024 it became part of the core ranking systems. The September 2023 helpful content update was the last standalone one.
How long does it take to recover from a Google core update?
Google says some improvements can show in a few days, but it can take several months for its systems to confirm a site is producing helpful content. If nothing changes after a few months, you may need to wait for the next core update.
Does Google penalise AI-generated content?
Google’s scaled content abuse policy, launched in March 2024, targets pages made at scale mainly to manipulate rankings. It applies whether automation, humans or both create the content. Using AI is not the violation; mass-producing low-value pages to rank is.
Does the August 2026 site reputation change affect Indian websites?
Only for searchers inside the European Economic Area. From 30 August 2026, site reputation manual actions no longer apply to EEA searchers, but they still affect results for users outside the EEA, including India.
Sources
- Google Search Status Dashboard: Ranking incident history
- Status Dashboard: September 2026 spam update
- Status Dashboard: May 2026 core update
- Status Dashboard: December 2025 core update
- Status Dashboard: August 2025 spam update
- Status Dashboard: March 2024 core update
- Status Dashboard: August 2024 ranking issue
- Status Dashboard: October 2023 Discover bug
- Status Dashboard: September 2023 helpful content update
- Status Dashboard: November 2023 reviews update
- Search Central Blog: March 2024 core update and new spam policies
- Search Central Blog: August 2024 core update
- Search Central Blog: Updating our site reputation abuse policy
- Search Central Blog: Site reputation policy enforcement in the EEA
- Search Central Blog: Back button hijacking spam policy
- Search Central Blog: February 2026 Discover core update
- Search Central Blog: Q&A on Google Search updates
- Search Central Blog: October 2023 spam update
- Google Search Central: Core updates and your website
- Google Search Central: Spam updates and your site
- Google Search Central: A guide to Google Search ranking systems
- Google Search Central: Reviews system and your website
- Search Central Blog: Hourly data in the Search Analytics API
- Search Central Blog: New Search Console Insights
- Search Central Blog: Query groups
- Search Central Blog: Custom annotations
- Search Central Blog: Branded queries filter
- Search Central Blog: AI-powered configuration
- Search Central Blog: Weekly and monthly views
- Search Central Blog: Generative AI performance reports
- Search Central Blog: Platform properties
- Search Central Blog: Web multimodal search in Search Console
- Search Central Blog: Search Central Live Bengaluru 2026
Kousik BhattacharyaEditor, PingTalks
Digital Evangelist and Entrepreneur at Clickseek Digital. A results-oriented marketing leader with an 18+ year track record driving transformative growth for diverse global businesses. Expert in performance marketing, demand generation, customer acquisition, strategic partnerships, and market expansion within B2B SaaS, Consumer-Tech, Fintech, Travel/Hospitality, and CRM/ITES Solutions sectors. IIM alumnus with a strong analytical background and a string of accolades, including "Top 50 Most Influential E-Commerce Professional of India" and "Top 100 Digital Marketer of India."
