Search every confirmed Google update from Panda to the September 2026 spam update. Filter by type, year and impact, and match the date of a ranking drop to what Google actually released. Free, with links to official sources.
Impact levels are Search Savvy’s editorial estimate, based on rollout scope and reported volatility. Google does not publish an impact score.
As of October 13, 2026, the latest confirmed update is the September 2026 Spam Update. It began on September 24, 2026 and Google marked it complete on October 8, 2026, after 13 days and 16 hours. The last core update was the May 2026 Core Update (May 21 to June 2, 2026), and no newer core update has been announced.
Google lists confirmed ranking updates on the Search Status Dashboard and in its ranking update history. This tracker mirrors those sources and adds filters, context and links to the announcements.
| Core update | Rollout |
|---|---|
| May 2026 | May 21 – Jun 2, 2026 |
| March 2026 | Mar 27 – Apr 8, 2026 |
| December 2025 | Dec 11 – Dec 29, 2025 |
| June 2025 | Jun 30 – Jul 17, 2025 |
| March 2025 | Mar 13 – Mar 27, 2025 |
| December 2024 | Dec 12 – Dec 18, 2024 |
| November 2024 | Nov 11 – Dec 5, 2024 |
| August 2024 | Aug 15 – Sep 3, 2024 |
| March 2024 | Mar 5 – Apr 19, 2024 |
Seven confirmed updates so far this year: two core updates, four spam updates and one Discover update.
| Update | Type | Rollout | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 2026 Discover Update | Discover | Feb 5 – Feb 27 | About 22 days |
| March 2026 Spam Update | Spam | Mar 24 – Mar 25 | About 19.5 hours |
| March 2026 Core Update | Core | Mar 27 – Apr 8 | 12 days |
| May 2026 Core Update | Core | May 21 – Jun 2 | About 12 days |
| June 2026 Spam Update | Spam | Jun 24 – Jun 26 | About 2 days |
| August 2026 Spam Update | Spam | Aug 18 – Aug 21 | About 2 days 16 hours |
| September 2026 Spam Update | Spam | Sep 24 – Oct 8 | 13 days 16 hours |
The label on an update tells you which part of Google’s systems changed, and that decides how you should respond.
| Type | What it changes | How to respond |
|---|---|---|
| Core updates | Broad changes to how Google assesses relevance and helpfulness across all sites | Improve content quality, depth and trust over time. It is not a penalty |
| Spam updates | Automated spam detection, including SpamBrain, enforcing Google’s spam policies | Review the spam policies and remove violations |
| Helpful content | Introduced in 2022 to demote content made mainly for search engines. Since folded into core systems | Write for people first and show real experience |
| Link and Penguin | Manipulative link building. Penguin joined the core algorithm in 2016 | Earn links naturally and avoid link schemes |
| Page experience and mobile | Mobile-friendliness, speed, HTTPS and Core Web Vitals, which are lighter signals | Fix technical experience issues |
| Discover, reviews and AI | A specific feature or feed rather than all web results | Check the guidance for that surface |
| Core update | Spam update | |
|---|---|---|
| What changes | How Google judges relevance and helpfulness overall | How automated systems detect policy-violating spam |
| Who is affected | Any site, including compliant ones | Mainly sites breaking spam policies |
| Typical rollout | About 1 to 3 weeks, sometimes longer | Hours to about two weeks |
| Is it a penalty? | No. Pages are reassessed against others | Algorithmic demotion, with no notice sent |
| Best response | Improve content quality, depth and trust over time | Review the spam policies and remove violations |
| Recovery | Often gradual, with the biggest moves at the next core update | Can be quicker once violations are fixed (not for link spam) |
Work through these four steps in order before you change anything on your site.
Pull the exact date range of the change from Search Console or your rank tracker.
Filter the tracker by year and see which confirmed update overlaps that window.
A core, spam or Discover label tells you which kind of signal most likely moved.
Confirm with Google’s announcement. After the rollout ends, wait at least a week before judging the data.
No matching update? Google also makes small unannounced changes every day. Rule out technical problems, manual actions, tracking errors and seasonal demand before blaming an algorithm change.
Quick answers on the latest updates, rollout timing and what to do after a ranking change.
As of October 13, 2026, the latest confirmed update is the September 2026 Spam Update. It began on September 24, 2026 and Google marked it complete on October 8, 2026, after 13 days and 16 hours. It applied globally to all languages.
The most recent core update is the May 2026 Core Update, which rolled out from May 21 to June 2, 2026. It followed the March 2026 Core Update (March 27 to April 8). No newer core update has been announced as of October 13, 2026.
Seven so far: the February Discover update, spam updates in March, June, August and September, and core updates in March and May.
Core updates broadly reassess how relevant and helpful results are across the web. Spam updates improve the systems that detect sites breaking Google’s spam policies, such as cloaking or scaled content abuse.
Several times a year, with no fixed schedule. Google confirmed four in 2024, three in 2025 and two so far in 2026.
Wait until the rollout is marked complete, then allow at least one more week before comparing Search Console data. Reacting mid-rollout makes it hard to tell what caused any change.
No. A core update reassesses pages against each other, so a drop can happen even if nothing is wrong with your site. Spam updates are different, because they target policy violations.
Not every change maps to a named update. Google adjusts ranking systems constantly, so also check for technical errors, manual actions, indexing problems and seasonal demand shifts.
From Google’s Search Status Dashboard, the Search Central ranking update history and Google’s official announcements. Each entry links to a source. Impact ratings are Search Savvy’s own editorial estimate, not a Google metric.
No. AI Overviews are a search feature that changed the results page layout, not a ranking update. The tracker lists their May 2024 launch because they affect how organic traffic is earned.
Once you know which update hit, fix the technical basics and mark up your pages.
Search Savvy’s SEO team can diagnose a ranking drop, pinpoint the likely cause and build a recovery plan around it.
