Approximately 302 English posts(approximately 227 Chinese translations).Core themes: AMP origins and expansion, the long march of Mobile-First Indexing (2016–2020), Search Console rebuild (2018), HTTPS enforcement (Chrome marked "Not Secure" in 2017), evergreen Googlebot (2019), systematization of Rich Cards / Results, COVID emergency response.Writing style: John Mueller took full charge + Martin Splitt started the JavaScript SEO battlefield + Daniel Waisberg took over Search Console announcements. Matt Cutts had already left.
Note: Blog post titles are kept in English (they serve as citation identifiers), with Chinese parenthetical notes explaining their meaning.
2016 — AMP + Penguin integrated into core + Mobile-First announcement (47 posts)
3 major events:
- 2016-08 AMP entered Google Search mobile carousel (the AMP era officially began)
- 2016-09 Penguin part of core algorithm(Penguin algorithm became part of the core algorithm, real-time)
- 2016-11 Mobile-First Indexing(Mobile-First Indexing) concept first made public (rollout starting 2018, full web rollout announced 2020, completed 2023)
Key posts
- 2016-01: Early AMP education + new look for the Webmasters site
- 2016-03: Continuing to make the web more mobile friendly
- 2016-03: Updating the smartphone user-agent of Googlebot
- 2016-05: Mobile friendly testing tool retirement (mobile-friendly testing tool retired, moved to PageSpeed Insights)
- 2016-05:Introducing Rich Cards(Introduced Rich Cards, upgraded version of rich snippets, later renamed Rich Results)
- 2016-08:AMP your content - A Preview of AMP'ed results in Search(AMP up your content — preview of AMP results in Search, strong AMP push)
- 2016-09:Penguin is now part of our core algorithm(Penguin is now part of our core algorithm, September 23, 2016)
- 2016-09: Showcase your site's reviews in Search
- 2016-10: AMP testing improvements
- 2016-11:Mobile-first indexing(Mobile-first indexing, November 4, 2016) — concept announcement + webmaster preparation
- 2016-11:Here's to more HTTPS on the web!(Cheers to more HTTPS on the web!)
- 2016-11:Building Indexable Progressive Web Apps(Building indexable Progressive Web Apps, early PWA + SEO discussion)
- 2016-12:Editor's Choice column in Google News("Editor's Picks" section in Google News)
2017 — Job posting SD + HTTPS "Not Secure" warning (42 posts)
Major events:
- June 2017 Job posting structured data launched(Jobs on Search, changed the SEO landscape for job platforms; see Complete Google Search Central Case Studies (13 cases + landing page) for 5 job-related cases)
- Starting July 2017 Chrome 62, HTTP form inputs = "Not Secure" warning(Second wave of strong HTTPS push)
Key posts
- 2017-01: Mobile-Friendly Test API
- 2017-01: Protect your site from user generated spam
- 2017-01:What Crawl Budget Means for Googlebot(What Crawl Budget means for Googlebot, full explanation)
- 2017-04: How we fought webspam (annual Webspam Report series)
- 2017-04: Similar items: Rich products feature on Google Images
- 2017-06:Better Snippets for your Users(Better snippets for users, snippet control improvements)
- 2017-06:Connect to job seekers with Google Search(Connecting job seekers with Google Search, JobPosting structured data launch)
- 2017-07:Next steps toward more connection security(Next steps toward more connection security)
- 2017-08:The new Search Console: a sneak peek at two experimental features(Preview of the new Search Console: two experimental features)
- 2017-08: Badges on Image Search help users find what they really want
- 2017-09:How to move from m-dot URLs to responsive site(How to move from m-dot URLs to a responsive site)
- 2017-12:A revamped SEO Starter Guide(Revamped SEO starter guide)
- 2017-12: Getting your site ready for mobile-first indexing
- 2017-12:Introducing Rich Results and the Rich Results Testing Tool(Introducing Rich Results and testing tool, Rich Cards → Rich Results rename)
- 2017-12:#NoHacked 3.0 series (hacked sites + fixes, 4 posts)
- 2017-12: Webmaster Video Series (new)
2018 — Search Console rebuild + Mobile-First official rollout (46 posts)
Core events:March 26, 2018 Mobile-First Indexing rollout started(site-by-site migration began) + August 2018 new Search Console beta released.
Key posts
- 2018-01: Real-world data in PageSpeed Insights (origin of field data in PageSpeed Insights)
- 2018-01:Using page speed in mobile search ranking(Using page speed in mobile search ranking, speed entered mobile ranking)
- 2018-02:A secure web is here to stay(A secure web is here to stay, full HTTPS push)
- 2018-02: How listening to our users helped us build a better Search Console
- 2018-03:Rolling out mobile-first indexing(Starting to roll out mobile-first indexing, rollout launched!)
- 2018-04:We updated our job posting guidelines(We updated our job posting guidelines)
- 2018-06:Introducing the Indexing API for job posting URLs(Introducing the Indexing API for job posting URLs)
- 2018-06:New URL inspection tool and more in Search Console(New URL Inspection tool in Search Console and more, major milestone)
- 2018-07:A big step for Chrome security: HTTP pages now show "not protected"(A big step for Chrome security: HTTP pages now marked "not protected", Chrome 68)
- 2018-08:The new Search Console is graduating out of Beta(The new Search Console graduates from Beta)
- 2018-10:Introducing reCAPTCHA v3: the new way to stop bots(Introducing reCAPTCHA v3: a new way to stop bots)
- 2018-11:PageSpeed Insights, now powered by Lighthouse(PageSpeed Insights now powered by Lighthouse, architecture upgrade)
- 2018-12:Mobile-First indexing, structured data, images, and your site(Complete guides for your site on mobile-first indexing / structured data / images)
- 2018-12:Rich Results expands for Question and Answer pages(Rich Results expanded to Q&A pages, QAPage structured data)
- 2018-12:Why and how to secure your website with the HTTPS protocol(Why and how to protect your website with HTTPS)
2019 — evergreen Googlebot + nofollow → sponsored / ugc + farewell to Flash (63 posts)
3 major events:
- May 2019 evergreen Googlebot launched — Googlebot no longer stuck on Chrome 41, auto-upgrades, JavaScript rendering leap forward
- 2019-09 Evolving "nofollow"(Evolution of nofollow) — new sponsored and ugc attributes, nofollow changed to a "hint"
- 2019-10 Goodbye Flash(Farewell to Flash) — Flash indexing fully deprecated
Key posts
- 2019-01:Dynamic Rendering with Rendertron(Dynamic rendering with Rendertron, recommended in 2019, later deprecated)
- 2019-02:Consolidating your website traffic on canonical URLs(Consolidate your site traffic to canonical URLs)
- 2019-02:Announcing domain-wide data in Search Console(Announcing domain-level data in Search Console)
- 2019-03: Help Google Search know the best date for your web page
- 2019-03:Introducing a new JavaScript SEO video series(Launching new JavaScript SEO video series, Martin Splitt's main battlefield)
- 2019-03: This year in Search Spam — Webspam report 2018
- 2019-04:Enriching Search Results Through Structured Data(Enrich search results with structured data)
- 2019-04:Instant-loading AMP pages from your own domain(Instant-loading AMP pages on your own domain, AMP Signed Exchange)
- 2019-04: Search Console reporting for your site's Discover performance data
- 2019-04: User experience improvements with page speed in mobile search
- 2019-05:Mobile-First Indexing by default for new domains(New domains default to mobile-first indexing)
- 2019-05:Monitoring structured data with Search Console(Monitor structured data with Search Console)
- 2019-05:New in structured data: FAQ and How-to(New structured data additions: FAQ and How-to; ⚠️ FAQ will be deprecated in 2026, but was launched at this time)
- 2019-05:The new evergreen Googlebot(New evergreen Googlebot, a milestone!)
- 2019-06:A video series on SEO myths for web developers(SEO myths video series for web developers)
- 2019-06: Bye Bye Preferred Domain setting (farewell to the preferred domain setting, removed from Search Console settings)
- 2019-07:Formalizing the Robots Exclusion Protocol Specification(Robots Exclusion Protocol specification formalized, REP becomes an RFC)
- 2019-07:Google's robots.txt parser is now open source(Google’s robots.txt parser is now open source)
- 2019-07: A note on unsupported rules in robots.txt (explanation of unsupported rules in robots.txt, such as crawl-delay)
- 2019-08:What site owners should know about Google's August 2019 core update(What site owners need to know about the August core algorithm update; the core update series takes shape)
- 2019-09:Saying goodbye to the old Search Console(Farewell to the old Search Console; the old Webmaster Tools UI is fully removed)
- 2019-09:Evolving "nofollow" – new ways to identify the nature of links(Evolution of nofollow — new ways to mark link properties: sponsored / ugc!)
- 2019-09: Fresher data in your site's Search Performance report
- 2019-09: Making Review Rich Results more helpful
- 2019-09:More options to help websites preview their content on Google Search(More options to help sites preview content in Google Search; launch of max-snippet and related controls)
- 2019-10:Goodbye, Flash(Farewell to Flash, end-of-life on 2020-12)
- 2019-10:New reports for video results in Search Console(New Search Console report for video results)
- 2019-10:Site Kit is now available for all WordPress sites(Site Kit is now available for all WordPress sites)
- 2019-10:Updating the user agent of Googlebot(Updated Googlebot user agent)
- 2019-11:New reporting for Products Results in Search Console(New Search Console report for product results)
- 2019-11:Get faster with the new Speed report in Search Console(Speed up with the new Speed report; early form of Core Web Vitals)
- 2019-12:Launching the event experience on Google Search in Spain and Germany(Event experience launched in Spain and Germany)
- 2019-12:Launching a new Publisher Center(Launched the new Publisher Center)
- 2019-12: Package Tracking Early Access Program
2020 — COVID + full-web Mobile-First + Webmasters → Search Central (54 posts)
3 major events:
- 2020-03 Mobile-First Indexing for the whole web announced(Announced mobile-first indexing enabled for the entire web, with a transition date of March 2021)
- 2020 COVID emergency response — multiple articles on guidance for online events / business pauses
- 2020-11 Goodbye Google Webmasters, hello Google Search Central!(Brand rebrand and renaming)
Key articles
- 2020-01:Sunsetting support for data-vocabulary(Removed support for data-vocabulary; only schema.org remains for structured data)
- 2020-01:Get Ready for New SameSite=None; Secure Cookie Settings(Preparing for the new SameSite=None secure cookie setting)
- 2020-01:New Removals report in Search Console(New Removals report in Search Console)
- 2020-01: Search Console Training video series launched
- 2020-02:More and better data export in Search Console(More and better Search Console data exports)
- 2020-02: How to showcase your events on Google Search
- 2020-02: New reports for review snippets in Search Console
- 2020-03:Announcing mobile first indexing for the whole web!(Announced mobile-first indexing enabled for the entire web!, with a March 2021 deadline)
- 2020-03:Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Webmaster Conference(COVID and webmaster conferences moved online)
- 2020-03:How to pause your business online in Google Search(How to pause an online business in Google Search, COVID emergency playbook)
- 2020-04:Introducing a new way for sites to highlight COVID-19 announcements(New way for sites to highlight COVID announcements: SpecialAnnouncement structured data, deprecated in 2025)
- 2020-05:Evaluating page experience for a better web(⭐ Evaluating page experience for a better web,first announcement of the Page Experience concept, on the eve of Core Web Vitals)
- 2020-05:Frequently asked questions about JavaScript and links(Common questions about JavaScript and links)
- 2020-05:New reports for Guided Recipes on Assistant in Search Console(New Assistant-guided recipe report in Search Console)
- 2020-05:New reports for Special Announcements in Search Console(New Special Announcements report in Search Console)
- 2020-05:Hello Search Console. Nice to meet you!(Hello Search Console; Webmaster Tools → Search Console transition complete)
- 2020-06:How we fought Search spam on Google - Webspam Report 2019(Year-end + COVID response)
- 2020-07:How spam reports are used at Google(How Google uses spam reports; initial version of the policy that spam reports do not directly lead to manual actions)
- 2020-07:Prepare for mobile-first indexing (with a little extra time)(Preparing for mobile-first indexing, with a little extra time; original deadline delayed due to COVID)
- 2020-07:The Rich Results Test is out of beta(Rich Results Test exits beta)
- 2020-08:Identify and fix AMP Signed Exchange errors in Search Console(Identify and fix AMP signed exchange errors in Search Console)
- 2020-08:Make the licensing information for your images visible on Google Images(Making image copyright information visible in Google Images; Image License Metadata structured data)
- 2020-08:Search Off The Record podcast - behind the scenes with Search Relations(Podcast launched, behind the scenes with the Search Relations team)
- 2020-08:Join our first Virtual Webmaster Unconference(Join the first online webmaster unconference; origin of the Unconference, starting in 2020)
- 2020-09:Googlebot will soon speak HTTP/2(Googlebot will soon support HTTP/2)
- 2020-09:New Schema.org support for retailer shipping data(New schema.org support for retailer shipping data; early shipping structured data)
- 2020-09:Sharing what we learned on the first Virtual Webmaster Unconference(Sharing takeaways from the first online Unconference)
- 2020-10:Best practices for Black Friday and Cyber Monday pages(Best practices for Black Friday / Cyber Monday pages)
- 2020-11:Goodbye Google Webmasters, hello Google Search Central(⭐ Goodbye Google Webmasters, hello Google Search Central, brand rebrand)
- 2020-11:We moved! Introducing the new home for the Google Webmaster Blogs(We moved! Introducing the new home of the webmaster blog, domain moved to developers.google.com)
- 2020-11:New and improved crawl stats for your site(New and improved site crawl stats)
- 2020-11:Timing for bringing page experience to Google Search(Timeline for bringing Page Experience to Google Search, launching 2021-05)
- 2020-12:A weird year in review(A look back at a strange year, COVID summary)
Summary of era characteristics
5 major milestones in 5 years (ranked by importance)
- The full long march of Mobile-First Indexing(November 2016 announcement → March 2018 launch → May 2019 default for new domains → March 2020 full-web announcement → October 2023 completion) — 7 years in total
- HTTPS enforcement(2014-08 ranking signal → 2017-07 Chrome form warnings → 2018-07 all HTTP marked "Not Secure" → 2018-02 full manifesto post)
- New Search Console(2017 preview → 2018-08 beta release → 2019-09 old version fully retired)
- Origins of AMP(2016-01 launch → 2016-08 entry into search → 2019-04 Signed Exchange → 2020 gradual decline)
- evergreen Googlebot(2019-05) — The golden age of JavaScript SEO begins
Major new features
- Rich Cards → Rich Results(Renamed in 2017-12)
- Indexing API(2018-06, limited to jobs and broadcasts)
- URL Inspection tool(2018-06)
- FAQ / How-to structured data(2019-05; ⚠️ FAQ deprecated 2026-05, How-to changed 2023-08)
- nofollow → sponsored + ugc(2019-09)
- Open-sourcing of the robots.txt parser(2019-07)
- REP RFC standardization(2019-07)
- Speed report(2019-11, early form of CWV)
- Page Experience concept(2020-05)
- Image License Metadata structured data(2020-08)
- Search Off the Record podcast(2020-08)
- Search Central Unconference(2020-08)
Dead features (died in this era)
- ❌ Flash indexing(2019-10 farewell to Flash)
- ❌ data-vocabulary structured data (2020-01)
- ❌ Old Search Console UI(2019-09)
- ❌ Mobile-Friendly Test API Standalone version (moved to PageSpeed Insights in 2016)
- ❌ Preferred Domain setting(2019-06)
- ❌ Dynamic Rendering Recommended (recommended in 2019 → deprecated later)
Structured data left behind by COVID
- SpecialAnnouncement structured data(Launched 2020-04) → deprecated 2025-04
- Event structured data added isAccessibleForFree / OnlineEventAttendanceMode(2020-03 response to online events) → online event attributes removed 2025-06
Topic word cloud (2016–2020)
- "AMP" / "Accelerated Mobile Pages" / "mobile-first indexing"
- "HTTPS" / "secure web" / "Not Secure"
- "Search Console" / "URL Inspection" / "new Search Console"
- "Rich Results" / "structured data" / "schema.org"
- "evergreen Googlebot" / "JavaScript SEO" / "Rendertron"
- "Page Experience" / "Core Web Vitals" / "Speed report"
- "COVID" / "coronavirus" / "pause business"
- "Robots.txt" / "REP" / "RFC"
- "Indexing API" / "Job posting" / "Indexing in real-time"
Reverse lookup guide
- Origins and evolution of AMP → 2016-01 / 08 / 09 + 2017-11 + 2019-04 + 2020-08
- The long march of Mobile-First Indexing → 2016-11 + 2017-12 + 2018-03 + 2019-05 + 2020-03 / 07
- Strong push for HTTPS → 2017-07 + 2018-02 / 07
- Rebuilding Search Console → 2017-08 + 2018-02 / 06 / 08 + 2019-09
- evergreen Googlebot → 2019-05
- Launch of FAQ and How-to → 2019-05 (⚠️ FAQ dies 2026-05)
- nofollow → sponsored / ugc → 2019-09
- REP RFC → 2019-07
- Page Experience concept → 2020-05
- COVID emergency playbook → 2020-03 / 04 / 07
- Farewell to Flash → 2019-10
- Rebrand and rename to Search Central → 2020-11
Related references
- Google Search Central Blog author directory (80 authors) — John Mueller fully takes over / Martin Splitt starts JS SEO / Daniel Waisberg leads Search Console / Lizzi Sassman starts out
- GSC Blog 2011–2015: The Era of Algorithm Waves (Panda / Penguin / Hummingbird / Mobilegeddon / Knowledge Graph) — continuing from the Penguin / Mobilegeddon era
- GSC Blog 2021–2026: The Era of Helpful Content / Page Experience / AI Overviews — continuing into the Helpful Content + AI era
- Complete JavaScript SEO (basics + diagnostics + Dynamic Rendering + Lazy Loading) — complete contemporary JS SEO
- Complete Guide to Googlebot Crawling Mechanisms and Indexing Control (URL/Links/Mobile-first/Meta/Testing/AMP) — 13 types of contemporary Mobile-First Indexing errors
- How to use the Search Console + Analytics + Trends trio (traffic diagnostics / keyword research / Looker Studio) — 8 types of contemporary Search Console reports
- Complete Guide to Canonicals / Redirects / Site Migrations (including full HTTP status code table + 503 temporary closure playbook) — 3 contemporary methods for HTTPS enforcement
Sources and related materials
- GSC Blog 2011–2015: The Era of Algorithm Waves (Panda / Penguin / Hummingbird / Mobilegeddon / Knowledge Graph)
- GSC Blog 2021–2026: The Helpful Content / Page Experience / AI Overviews Era
- The Complete Guide to Googlebot Crawling Mechanisms and Indexing Control (URL/Links/Mobile-first/Meta/Testing/AMP)
- The Full JavaScript SEO Suite (Fundamentals + Diagnostics + Dynamic Rendering + Lazy Loading)
- How to Use the Search Console + Analytics + Trends Trio (Traffic Diagnostics / Keyword Research / Looker Studio)