Search Engine Optimisation Web Log (BLOG)
Editor: Matt Paines

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Google Dance update Schedule 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008

Googles updates, showing them as and when they happen.

15 Jan 08 -Page Rank Update
We are hearing from various people that there is a PR and BackLink upgate going on. We have seen some slight changes in certain sites but it doesn't appear to be widespread. So until it is fully embraced we are going to mark it as a partial for now. If you are seeing a shift please let us know.

29 Oct 07 -Page Rank Update
Last week was full of speculation regarding a PageRank update. It started with a number of sites - particularly directories and paid inclusion sites dropping in PageRank.
Over the weekend PageRank has indeed updated unilaterally. Whilst there have been some high profile drops in PageRank, on the whole the update has been fairly positive.
Google has also improved the ranking delay. In recent updates, the "cut off date" for a page to gain a rank was 3 months or more. This update the cut off date was the 3rd Oct. Therefore if your page / site has been live prior to this date (and has been properly linked) it will have been included in the revisions.

25 Oct 07 -Page Rank Update
There are discussions in the forums concerning a PageRank (PR) update in Google. It appears to be only affecting some sites, on the most part from the US.
We have seen no evidence of said update but will be eagerly watching as Google has not updated its PR since April.

7 Aug07 - Yesterday we saw Google update its recorded BackLinks. It doesn't appear to have updated its PageRank system, which is a shame because we are now in August and it is recording PageRank only on pages from the end of March - by the end of the month Google will be 6 months behind.

30 Jan07 - Google is reported to have been playing with a new algorithm. Whether it is an algorithm or just a new filter is immaterial, but the technique of Googlebombing would appear to be at the centre of it's impact. Since the beginning of Google their algorithm has been based less on the content of a site and more on the number of links pointing to a website with a particular piece of anchortext... Google's new Algorithm

18 Oct06 - After a false start last week, Google has updated its Backlink and Pagerank (PR). Normally when Google updates PR it only updates the PR on the pages it was seeing approx 4 wks earlier. So any pages uploaded after then have to wait until the next time round. The last update on the 14th July was awarding PR to pages it saw early June. This time round the cut off date is somewhere between the 21st and the 27th of July. Making this PR Update approx three months old.

10th Jan 06- The infamous Jagger Update occurred over a three week period in October - November 2005. What became clear was it hated webspam. Generally those sites that had top listings before due to "content optimisation" have fallen the furthest; those relying on other factors haven't fallen as far. Read more about the Jagger Update.

History
Notice that prior to July 2004, Googles updates were reasonably regular, both PageRank and BackLinks changed simultaneously. From July 2004, however, PageRank started to be updated quarterly, although backlink updates were occurring every 3/4 weeks.

In October 2004 we saw the first BackLink update that wasn't. Or at least it appeared for a short period and then the previous results were restored again.

At the end of April 2005 for the first time in almost a year PageRank and Backlinks were updated simultaneously again.

During 2005 we have seen a succession of BackLink and PageRank reversals, over a period of a few hours there is an update, then the data is back to where it was. Interestingly however when an actual BackLink or PageRank update does happen it is generally the same as that witnessed. Perhaps it's Googles way of giving us a sneak preview.

What is this fuss about PageRank Backlinks and Datacentres? and why you should care.

Comment:

30.03.07 Michael Samaras
Google updated its search engine. We have had some backlinks revoked and some additionals added to other websites.

19.06.07 Adam Farr
I built my first site and got quite good results in the search engines, especially Yahoo. Last year I decided to have it done professionally, I paid to have it done by a company that said they also did SEO. All my rankings are gone, except for my brand. Looking at various places for advice (including your site - which I really rate) I see the new site is dynamic with long URLs - which explains all. I'm paying for my hits on Google Adwords now. I've learnt a valuable lesson "Research more before you buy". Adam

19.06.07 Matt says- Not an unusual story Adam. Many sites built on a budget are done using simple technologies, as such they are often spider accessible. As soon as you start getting ambitious, spending a little money then this situation can happen. Especially if the web developer hasn't got a clue.
There are platforms around you can migrate to which will, without reinventing the site, convert your existing site by using URL rewriting which will improve things. It is a service we provide if you get stuck.

22.10.07 David Hockenberry
Does anyone have any idea when the next PR will happen?

22.10.07 Matt says- We are in uncharted territory right now, in recent history Google hasn't gone this long without a PR update- the last one was the last week of April. However,interestingly if you look at 2005 there was an update in the last week of April and then nothing until the third week of October. Don't wish for it too much because the following week there was the infamous JAGGER update.

23.10.07 Frederica
Oh no....not Jagger! They wouldn't do that again would they?

29.10.07 DaveT
My home page has more but the rest of my site hasn't been updated with Page Rank, it has been live for 18 months but I made some major changes on the 5th Oct. Does this mean I'm going to have to wait until the next update.

30.10.07 Matt says- Yep...looks like you missed it. But don't forget PR updates are only for indication purposes, it is only the toolbar update. A page has PageRank, it's just you can't see it.

M.P