Google core updates: full history and timeline
All Google algorithm updates (Core, Spam, Helpful Content, Reviews, Site Reputation) with dates, durations and status. Official source: Search Status Dashboard. Refreshed every hour.
Core updates are Google's big, foundational algorithm changes. They don't target one particular site: Google re-assesses the whole, to better reward content that is helpful and reliable. They are not penalties.
If you lose positions during a core update, it doesn't mean your pages did something wrong: other pages simply answer better, and the bar moved. There is no magic button to fix it. Google's advice: look at the site as a whole, honestly, and improve the content in a lasting way (helpful, reliable, written for people, the E-E-A-T logic). Recovery can take several months, often until a later update.
This page lists the history of core updates and other confirmed updates, with their dates, so you can place a traffic change against what Google actually rolled out.
All Google core updates (35 listed)
| Name | Type | Start | End | Duration | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026 spam update | Spam Update | Sep 24, 2026 | Oct 8, 2026 | 13 days | Completed |
| August 2026 spam update | Spam Update | Aug 18, 2026 | Aug 21, 2026 | 2 days | Completed |
| June 2026 spam update | Spam Update | Jun 24, 2026 | Jun 26, 2026 | 2 days | Completed |
| May 2026 core update | Core Update | May 21, 2026 | Jun 2, 2026 | 11 days | Completed |
| March 2026 core update | Core Update | Mar 27, 2026 | Apr 8, 2026 | 12 days | Completed |
| March 2026 spam update | Spam Update | Mar 24, 2026 | Mar 25, 2026 | 0 day | Completed |
| February 2026 Discover update | Discover Update | Feb 5, 2026 | Feb 27, 2026 | 21 days | Completed |
| December 2025 core update | Core Update | Dec 11, 2025 | Dec 29, 2025 | 18 days | Completed |
| March 2025 core update | Core Update | Mar 13, 2025 | Mar 27, 2025 | 14 days | Completed |
| December 2024 spam update | Spam Update | Dec 19, 2024 | Dec 26, 2024 | 7 days | Completed |
| December 2024 core update | Core Update | Dec 12, 2024 | Dec 18, 2024 | 6 days | Completed |
| November 2024 site reputation abuse | Site Reputation Abuse | Nov 19, 2024 | Nov 20, 2024 | 1 day | Completed |
| November 2024 core update | Core Update | Nov 11, 2024 | Dec 5, 2024 | 24 days | Completed |
| August 2024 core update | Core Update | Aug 15, 2024 | Sep 3, 2024 | 19 days | Completed |
| June 2024 spam update | Spam Update | Jun 20, 2024 | Jun 27, 2024 | 7 days | Completed |
| May 2024 site reputation abuse policy | Site Reputation Abuse | May 5, 2024 | May 6, 2024 | 1 day | Completed |
| March 2024 core update | Core Update | Mar 5, 2024 | Apr 19, 2024 | 45 days | Completed |
| March 2024 spam update | Spam Update | Mar 5, 2024 | Mar 20, 2024 | 15 days | Completed |
| November 2023 reviews update | Reviews Update | Nov 8, 2023 | Dec 7, 2023 | 29 days | Completed |
| November 2023 core update | Core Update | Nov 2, 2023 | Nov 28, 2023 | 26 days | Completed |
| October 2023 core update | Core Update | Oct 5, 2023 | Oct 19, 2023 | 14 days | Completed |
| October 2023 spam update | Spam Update | Oct 4, 2023 | Oct 20, 2023 | 16 days | Completed |
| September 2023 helpful content update | Helpful Content | Sep 14, 2023 | Sep 28, 2023 | 14 days | Completed |
| August 2023 core update | Core Update | Aug 22, 2023 | Sep 7, 2023 | 16 days | Completed |
| April 2023 reviews update | Reviews Update | Apr 12, 2023 | Apr 25, 2023 | 13 days | Completed |
| March 2023 core update | Core Update | Mar 15, 2023 | Mar 28, 2023 | 13 days | Completed |
| February 2023 product reviews update | Product Reviews | Feb 21, 2023 | Mar 7, 2023 | 14 days | Completed |
| December 2022 link spam update | Spam Update | Dec 14, 2022 | Jan 12, 2023 | 29 days | Completed |
| December 2022 helpful content update | Helpful Content | Dec 5, 2022 | Jan 12, 2023 | 38 days | Completed |
| October 2022 spam update | Spam Update | Oct 19, 2022 | Oct 21, 2022 | 2 days | Completed |
| September 2022 product reviews update | Product Reviews | Sep 20, 2022 | Sep 26, 2022 | 6 days | Completed |
| September 2022 core update | Core Update | Sep 12, 2022 | Sep 26, 2022 | 14 days | Completed |
| August 2022 helpful content update | Helpful Content | Aug 25, 2022 | Sep 9, 2022 | 15 days | Completed |
| July 2022 product reviews update | Product Reviews | Jul 27, 2022 | Aug 2, 2022 | 6 days | Completed |
| May 2022 core update | Core Update | May 25, 2022 | Jun 9, 2022 | 15 days | Completed |
How to respond to a Google core update?
Wait for the rollout to complete
A core update takes 1 to 3 weeks to roll out. Draw no conclusions before the announced end: rankings can fluctuate sharply between start and end.
Audit the affected content
Identify the pages that lost organic traffic. Cross-check with the theme of the update (Core = overall quality, Helpful Content = user value, Reviews = depth of expertise).
Iterate without overreacting
No mass republishing or frantic deletion. Gradually improve depth, expertise and intent match. Recoveries are often seen at the next update.
Further reading (in French): the guide to the Google algorithm, understanding and responding to a core update, and the technical SEO glossary.
Timeline
Each colored segment is an update: color = type, length = time between the announced start and end. Click to open the official source.
Click a type to show or hide it on the timeline.
Data source
Official feed of the Google Search Status Dashboard
(JSON endpoint incidents.json). Only entries qualified as ranking updates are kept.