Google Algorithm Updates 2017: The Year in Review

We can’t say it enough: Google keeps revising the rules of SEO. Those changes show up as a steady stream of algorithm updates, some bigger than others, and 2017 was a busy year. Here’s a look back at the major Google algorithm updates of 2017, based on an infographic by E2M.

January 10, 2017: Intrusive Interstitials

Google’s first algorithm update of 2017 was no surprise, since it had been announced well in advance, in August 2016. Aiming to improve the user experience on mobile, Google began penalizing websites cluttered with intrusive interstitials.

The move was well received: those pop-ups make browsing difficult, and even unpleasant, on sites that bombard visitors with them.

March 2017: Fred

Fred is the name of the update that rolled out in early March 2017. It targeted websites publishing low-quality content that cared more about generating ad revenue than about providing real value.

Why “Fred”? It started as a joke by Google’s Gary Illyes. When someone on Twitter asked him to name the update, he suggested calling it Fred, adding that every future update could be called Fred too. The name stuck.

August 22, 2017: Hawk

Hawk was a local search update that undid some of the effects of the Possum update launched in 2016. In particular, it removed a filter that kept two businesses sharing the same address, or located in the same building, from appearing in the same local pack.

October 27, 2017: A Change to Local Results

On October 27, 2017, Google started showing more local results while limiting access to other countries’ results through its country domains (google.co.uk, google.ca, and so on). Results now depend on the user’s location rather than on the Google domain they type in.

With this change, Google showed it was placing even more weight on location, which is why local SEO matters so much for small businesses.

Early December 2017: Longer Meta Descriptions

Until late 2017, Google typically displayed meta descriptions of up to about 160 characters in search results. In early December 2017, Google confirmed that snippets could now run longer, with many reaching about 320 characters.

Mid-December 2017: Maccabees

In December 2017, Google confirmed several changes meant to improve the relevance of search results. The sites hit hardest by what the SEO community called Maccabees were reportedly those with large numbers of near-duplicate landing pages built for keyword variations, much like doorway pages.

Unnamed Updates

On top of these six updates, there were five more that neither Google nor the SEO community named. They happened on February 1, February 7, May 17, June 25, and August 19, and all of them related to content quality.

2018 has already had a few surprises in store, and odds are there are more to come. If your rankings drop, first work out whether it’s an algorithm update or a change on your site.

Source: E2M Solutions.

Where Things Stand in 2026

In May 2018, a few weeks after this article was published, Google shortened snippets back to roughly their previous length. Google no longer names most updates: it confirms core, spam, and other ranking updates on its Google Search Status Dashboard (here’s how core updates work). If an update hit your traffic, see our guide to Google penalty recovery.

Keep Up With Google’s Changes

Référenceur is a French-speaking SEO and digital marketing agency from Belgium and Luxembourg that works with U.S. businesses remotely, through video calls, shared screens, and monthly reporting. Not sure how Google’s updates affect your site? Get a free assessment.