6 years ~211 English posts(~213 zh-cn translations, broad Sinicization coverage).Core themes: Page Experience launch, CWV evolution (INP added), Helpful Content Update rollout → merged into core, Product Reviews updates series, the start of the AI era (2023-2024), AI Overviews / AI Mode, Simplifying search results (major SD cleanup).Writing style: Led by Lizzi Sassman + collaboration from John Mueller / Martin Splitt / Daniel Waisberg / Gary Illyes + Cherry Prommawin (APAC) + Duy Nguyen (spam). Office hours began fixed monthly output starting in 2022.
2021 — Page Experience launch + Product Reviews + link spam (50 posts)
4 major events:
- 2021-05 mobile + 2022-Q1 desktop:Page Experience ranking officially launched(lightweight signal based on CWV)
- 2021-04 Product Reviews Update rolled out (first wave)
- 2021-07 Link Spam Update(SpamBrain enters the link battle)
- 2021-08 Search Console Insights(SC + GA4 joint insights tool)
Key posts
- 2021-01: Introducing Google News performance report
- 2021-01: Index Coverage Data Improvements
- 2021-02: Search Console Discover report now includes Chrome data
- 2021-03: New for education sites: Practice problems and Math solvers SD (⚠️ Practice problem deprecated 2026-01)
- 2021-04: More time, tools, and details on the page experience update(rollout details)
- 2021-04: What creators should know about Google's April 2021 product reviews update(first wave of Product Reviews)
- 2021-04: How we fought Search spam on Google in 2020 (annual)
- 2021-05: Prevent portions of your site from being abused by spam (UGC spam prevention)
- 2021-05: Sunsetting the generic rich results search appearance on Search Console
- 2021-06: Search Console regex filters update
- 2021-06: Learn how to improve your content with Search Console Insights
- 2021-07: A new way to enable video key moments in Search(Clip / Seek markup, used by Vimeo)
- 2021-07: A reminder on qualifying links and our link spam update(Link Spam Update July 2021)
- 2021-07: Analyzing Google Search traffic drops(classic 7-step diagnosis, cited multiple times in office hours)
- 2021-07: Updating our job posting guidelines to improve quality of results(continuously updated in 2022 + 2024)
- 2021-08: An update to how we generate web page titles(title link 9-source algorithm announcement)
- 2021-08: Simplifying the Page Experience report
- 2021-09: More information on how Google generates titles for web page results(in-depth explanation of title override)
- 2021-10: Search Analytics API now supports Discover, Google News, and Regex
- 2021-11: Timeline for bringing page experience ranking to desktop(2022-Q1 announce)
- 2021-11: A 2021 update on mobile-indexing
- 2021-12: December 2021 Product reviews update
2022 — Helpful Content Update + indexifembedded + Search Status Dashboard(37 posts)
4 major events:
- 2022-01-26
indexifembeddedrobots tag(used for iframe-embedded videos such as Vimeo) - 2022-08-25 Helpful Content Update first launched(English, later expanded to multiple languages)
- 2022-10 Site names in Search(WebSite SD)
- 2022-12-19 Google Search Status Dashboard launched
Key posts
- 2022-01: New robots tag: indexifembedded(⭐ Vimeo case study uses this + iframe noindex)
- 2022-01: Welcoming the new Search Console URL Inspection API
- 2022-03: Connecting Search Console to Data Studio
- 2022-03: Improving Product Review ranking, one year on
- 2022-03: Spring cleaning: the URL Parameters tool(SC URL Parameters tool retired)
- 2022-04: Optimizing website performance with a Search Console bubble chart (classic SC report analysis)
- 2022-04: How we fought Search spam on Google in 2021(annual)
- 2022-05: May 2022 core update
- 2022-05: Spring cleaning: some sitemap extension tags are going away(price / category etc. removed)
- 2022-06: Googlebot and the 15 MB thing(file size myth busting)
- 2022-06: How Google generates titles for documents with language or script misalignment
- 2022-07: Announcing the new Search Console Video index report
- 2022-08: What creators should know about Google's August 2022 helpful content update(⭐ HCU first launch)
- 2022-08: New in structured data: Pros and cons(Pros/Cons SD)
- 2022-09: The new HTTPS report in Search Console
- 2022-09: New Search Console Merchant Listings report
- 2022-10: Introducing site names on Google Search(WebSite SD + site name algorithm 4-level fallback)
- 2022-10: A deep dive into Search Console performance data filtering and limits(classic SC data explanation)
- 2022-10: Back in business: Search Central Live events (post-COVID return to in-person)
- 2022-10: Refreshed guidelines for site owners
- 2022-11: Introducing our new guide to Google Search ranking systems(14 systems documented)
- 2022-11: November Google SEO Office Hours (office hours official monthly series begins!)
- 2022-11: Start showing your products on the Shopping tab with Search Console
- 2022-12: December 2022 link spam update(SpamBrain second wave link spam)
- 2022-12: E-A-T gets an extra E for Experience(quality rater guidelines → E-E-A-T)
- 2022-12: Updates to Google's Services in Czechia in Light of the Czech Transposition (EU compliance)
- 2022-12: Introducing the Google Search Status Dashboard(⭐ Status Dashboard launch)
- 2022-12: Visual Elements of Google Search (visual elements gallery documentation)
2023 — INP + AI content guidance + Mobile-First completion + Video changes (48 posts)
4 major events:
- 2023-02 Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content(AI content stance)
- 2023-04-13 Videos must be main content(Video mode simplification)
- 2023-05 INP into Core Web Vitals(replaces FID)
- 2023-10 Mobile-First Indexing officially completed(the 7-year long march ends)
Key posts
- 2023-01: Spanish blog: Register for Search Central Virtual Unconference en español 2023 (Spanish-language Unconference)
- 2023-02: Bulk data export: a new and powerful way to access your Search Console data(SC → BigQuery)
- 2023-02: Don't use 403s or 404s for rate limiting(repeatedly emphasized in office hours — use 429 + Retry-After)
- 2023-02: Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content(⭐ AI content stance announcement)
- 2023-02: New updates to the Search Console Video indexing report
- 2023-03: Blending Search Console and internal data inside Looker Studio
- 2023-04: Japanese Blog: Introducing #GoogleSearchOfficeHours
- 2023-04: The role of page experience in creating helpful content
- 2023-04: Simplifying video presentation on Google Search Results(2023-04-13 video main content rule)
- 2023-04: How we fought spam on Google Search in 2022 (annual)
- 2023-04: Shipping and Returns information on Google Search web results
- 2023-05: Introducing INP to Core Web Vitals(⭐ INP replaces FID)
- 2023-05: Understanding news topic authority(News ranking system documented)
- 2023-05: How x-default can help you(hreflang x-default)
- 2023-06: Reporting search quality issues with a new user feedback form
- 2023-06: Sitemaps ping endpoint is going away(sitemaps.org protocol changes)
- 2023-06: Improving prominence reporting in the Search Console video indexing report
- 2023-08: Changes to HowTo and FAQ rich results(⚠️ How-to & FAQ significantly reduced, desktop only, etc.)
- 2023-08: The comedy of errors (lighthearted talk on 404 handling)
- 2023-09: How Google Search handles multilingual searches
- 2023-09: Associate Search Console to Merchant Center to discover growth opportunities
- 2023-09: Site names on Google Search now available for all languages
- 2023-10: Mobile-first indexing has landed - thanks for all your support(⭐ The 7-year long march ends!)
- 2023-10: October 2023 Spam Update
- 2023-10: Vehicle listing structured data for car dealerships (⚠️ deprecated 2025-09)
- 2023-11: New in structured data: discussion forum and profile page markup
- 2023-11: Expanding markup support for Organization details, including Logo SD
- 2023-11: List your courses with new course info structured data (⚠️ deprecated 2025-09)
- 2023-11: A Q&A on Google Search updates
- 2023-11: Upcoming deprecation of Crawl Rate Limiter Tool in Search Console
- 2023-11: Search Quality Raters Guidelines update
- 2023-12: This is over (annual farewell)
- 2023-12: Adding markup support for vacation rentals(VacationRental SD)
- 2023-12: Video mode now only shows pages where video is the main content(2023-04 rule officially took effect)
2024 — Helpful Content into core + AVIF + AI Overviews logged + Crawling December series(33 posts)
5 major events:
- 2024-03 March 2024 core update:Helpful Content Merged into core ranking systems;scaled content abuse policy + spam policy update
- 2024-06 LinkedIn launched(Search Central team)
- 2024-08 AVIF supported in Google Search
- 2024-08 AI Overviews logged in SC Performance report
- 2024-10-11 Sitelinks Search Box removed;cache: operator retired
- 2024-12 "Crawling December" 4-post series(educational, written primarily by Gary Illyes)
Key posts
- 2024-02: Adding structured data support for Product Variants(Product variants SD)
- 2024-02: New Search experiences in EEA: Rich results, aggregator units, and refinement chips (DMA compliance changes)
- 2024-02: The SEO Starter Guide got a makeover(revamped N times)
- 2024-03: ⭐ What web creators should know about our March 2024 core update and new spam policies(HCU merged into core)
- 2024-04: Improving Search Console ownership token management
- 2024-06: We're on LinkedIn (finally)(social account expansion)
- 2024-06: Mobile-indexing-vLast-final-final.doc(self-deprecating note that the mobile-first long march is finally done)
- 2024-06: Adding markup support for organization-level return policies
- 2024-07: Configure your shipping and returns directly in Search Console
- 2024-08: What to know about our August 2024 core update(mid-year core update)
- 2024-08: ⭐ Supporting AVIF in Google Search(image format expansion)
- 2024-08: Introducing recommendations in Google Search Console(SC intelligent recommendations)
- 2024-09: Learn all about Google Trends with our new YouTube tutorials
- 2024-09: New Search experiences in South Africa: Badges and refinement chips
- 2024-10: ⭐ Farewell, Sitelinks Search Box(SearchAction SD no longer used)
- 2024-10: Bringing Store ratings on Search to more countries
- 2024-11: ⭐ Updating our site reputation abuse policy(third-party content oversight also counts as violation)
- 2024-12: 🎄 Crawling December: HTTP caching(Gary's 4-post educational series)
- 2024-12: 🎄 Crawling December: CDNs and crawling
- 2024-12: 🎄 Crawling December: Faceted navigation
- 2024-12: 🎄 Crawling December: The how and why of Googlebot crawling
- 2024-12: 🎄 Crawling out of December: the 2024 recap
- 2024-12: An improved way to view your recent performance data in Search Console
2025 — Robots Refresher + AI experiences + major SD cleanup + Trends API (34 posts)
5 major events:
- 2025-02-03 Robots Refresher series(robots.txt educational refresher)
- 2025-05 AI experience content guidance(Top ways to ensure your content performs well in AI experiences)
- 2025-06 Simplifying the search results page — multiple SD types deprecated (course / learning video / special announcement / vehicle / ClaimReview)
- 2025-07 Google Trends API alpha launched
- 2025-12 SC AI-powered configuration(SC intelligent assistant)
Key posts
- 2025-01: Simplifying the visible URL element on mobile search results
- 2025-02: Robots Refresher: introducing a new series(4-post series)
- 2025-03: Robots Refresher: Future-proof Robots Exclusion Protocol
- 2025-03: Robots Refresher: page-level granularity
- 2025-03: Robots Refresher: robots.txt — a flexible way to control how machines explore
- 2025-04: The Search Analytics API now supports hourly data
- 2025-05: App deep links: connecting your website and app
- 2025-05: ⭐ Top ways to ensure your content performs well in Google's AI experiences(AI content guidance)
- 2025-06: Adding markup support for loyalty programs(LoyaltyProgram SD)
- 2025-06: The new Search Console Insights report is here(SC Insights restructuring)
- 2025-06: ⭐ Simplifying the search results page(major SD cleanup: course / learning video / special announcement / vehicle listing / ClaimReview deprecated)
- 2025-07: ⭐ Introducing the Google Trends API (alpha)(Trends API first opened)
- 2025-09: Announcing the store widget: build shopper confidence and drive sales
- 2025-10: Introducing Query groups in Search Console Insights
- 2025-11: Adding context to your Search Console data with custom annotations
- 2025-11: More ways to share your shipping and returns policies with Google
- 2025-11: Introducing the branded queries filter in Search Console(branded vs non-branded)
- 2025-11: Here's an update on our efforts to simplify the search results page(mid-term simplification progress)
- 2025-12: ⭐ Streamline your Search Console analysis with the new AI-powered configuration(SC intelligent assistant)
- 2025-12: Introducing social channels in Search Console
- 2025-12: Introducing weekly and monthly views in Search Console
2026 — Discover Core Update + back button hijacking + generative AI optimization guidance (9 posts)
Existing events(As of 2026-05, when this wiki was created):
- 2026-02 February 2026 Discover Core Update
- 2026-03 Inside Googlebot(In-depth education on crawl/fetch/bytes)
- 2026-03 New crawler IP ranges location
- 2026-04 back button hijacking spam policy(New spam types)
- 2026-05 A new resource for optimizing for generative AI in Google Search(⭐ Complete AEO/GEO myth-busting guide)
Specific posts already available
- 2026-01: Search Central Live is coming back to South America
- 2026-02: Google's February 2026 Discover Core Update
- 2026-03: Inside Googlebot: demystifying crawling, fetching, and the bytes we process
- 2026-03: New Location for the Google Crawlers' IP Range Files
- 2026-03: Search Central Live Asia Pacific 2026: Get Ready for Sydney and more!
- 2026-03: Search Central Live is coming to Canada!
- 2026-04: Introducing a new spam policy for "back button hijacking"
- 2026-04: Search Central Live is Coming to Shanghai in 2026!
- 2026-05: ⭐ A new resource for optimizing for generative AI in Google Search
Summary of era characteristics
Core algorithm / policy timeline over 6 years
- 2021-05:Page Experience (mobile) launched
- 2021-04 + 12:Product Reviews updates (later expanded into a series)
- 2021-07:Link Spam Update(SpamBrain)
- 2022-Q1:Page Experience (desktop) launched
- 2022-08:Helpful Content Update first rolled out
- 2023-05:INP into CWV
- 2023-10:Mobile-First Indexing completed
- 2024-03:Helpful Content Merged into core(No longer a standalone update)
- 2024-08:August 2024 core update
- 2024-11:Site reputation abuse enforcement tightened
- 2025-06:Simplifying search results (major structured data cleanup begins)
- 2026-02:Discover Core Update
- 2026-04:Back button hijacking spam policy
AI era timeline
- 2023-02:AI-generated content guidance (evaluate output, not source)
- 2024-05 onward: AI Overviews (SGE → AI Overviews)
- 2024-08:AI Overviews logged in Search Console Performance report
- 2025-05:AI features documentation; guidance on using generative AI content
- 2025-06:AI Mode counted in Search Console totals
- 2026-05:Complete guide to optimizing for generative AI features(AEO/GEO = myth)
Search Console evolution
- 2021-06:Search Console Insights launched
- 2022-01:URL Inspection API launched
- 2022-09:HTTPS report launched
- 2023-02:Bulk data export launched (→ BigQuery)
- 2024-08:Recommendations launched
- 2025-04:Hourly data support added
- 2025-06:Insights restructured
- 2025-11:Branded queries filter + custom annotations
- 2025-12:AI-powered configuration + weekly/monthly views + social channels
Structured data wave (2021–2026)
Launched:
- Practice problems + Math solvers (2021-03, defunct)
- Pros and cons(2022-08)
- Discussion forum + Profile page(2023-11)
- Course info (2023-11, defunct)
- Vehicle listing (2023-10, defunct)
- Vacation rentals(2023-12)
- Product Variants(2024-02)
- Organization-level return policies(2024-06)
- Loyalty programs(2025-06)
Retired (one-time batch in 2025-06):
- ❌ ClaimReview / Course info / Estimated salary / Learning video / Special announcement / Vehicle listing / Book actions (partial)
- ❌ Sitelinks Search Box(2024-10)
- ❌ Practice problem(2026-01)
- ❌ Dataset (in Google Search; still used in Dataset Search)
- ❌ FAQ rich result (2026-05-07, but the markup itself may still be written)
- ❌ How-to (essentially retired)
Topic word cloud (2021–2026)
- "Helpful Content Update" / "core update" / "Page Experience"
- "INP" / "Core Web Vitals" / "FID"
- "Product reviews update" / "site reputation abuse"
- "AI Overviews" / "AI Mode" / "Generative AI" / "AI-generated content"
- "Simplifying search results"
- "Site names" / "title link" / "snippet"
- "Loyalty program" / "shipping policy" / "Product variants"
- "Crawling December" / "Robots Refresher" / "Inside Googlebot"
- "Search Console Insights" / "Bulk data export" / "Recommendations"
- "back button hijacking" / "scaled content abuse"
Reverse lookup guide
- Helpful Content Update → 2022-08 + 2024-03 (merged into core)
- Page Experience → 2021-05 mobile + 2021-11/22-Q1 desktop
- Core update → 2022-05 + 2024-03 + 2024-08 + 2026-02 Discover
- INP into CWV → 2023-05
- AI content guidance → 2023-02 + 2025-05 + 2026-05 (complete generative AI guide)
- AI Overviews counted in Search Console → 2024-08
- Mobile-First completion → 2023-10 (end of the 7-year long march)
- Major structured data cleanup → 2025-06
- FAQ deprecation → 2026-05-07
- Site reputation abuse → 2024-03 + 2024-11
- Crawling December 4-post series → 2024-12
- Robots Refresher 4-post series → 2025-02/03
- Trends API alpha → 2025-07
- back button hijacking → 2026-04
- 15 MB Googlebot myth → 2022-06
- Status Dashboard → 2022-12
- indexifembedded → 2022-01 (used by Vimeo)
Cross-references
- Google Search Central Blog author directory (80 authors) — Lead author Lizzi Sassman + John Mueller / Martin Splitt / Daniel Waisberg / Gary Illyes / Cherry Prommawin / Duy Nguyen
- GSC Blog 2016–2020: Mobile-First / AMP / New Search Console / COVID era — Continuing the mobile-first long march
- Google ranking systems + Core/Spam Updates + business information establishment — 14 current ranking systems + 4 retired + core update response
- Complete guide to rich features / Discover / Images / Video / Page Experience / Web Stories / SXG / Paywall — Discover / CWV / Page Experience current state
- Complete overview of Structured Data (framework + one-click lookup for 34 rich result types + JSON-LD/Microdata/RDFa selection) — 34 current structured data types + FAQ deprecation
- GSC Events + documentation update announcement timeline (2022–2026 / 12 documents) — Concurrent documentation updates timeline
- Google SEO Office Hours highlights (2022.11–2024.08) + summary of 3 major FAQ topics — Concurrent office hours answers (2022.11–2024.08)
- How to use the Search Console + Analytics + Trends trio (traffic diagnostics / keyword research / Looker Studio) — 8 current Search Console report categories
Sources and related materials
- GSC Blog 2016–2020: Mobile-First / AMP / New Search Console / COVID era
- Google Search Central Blog author directory (80 authors)
- Google ranking systems + Core/Spam Updates + business information establishment
- Complete guide to rich features / Discover / Images / Video / Page Experience / Web Stories / SXG / Paywall
- Complete overview of Structured Data (framework + one-click lookup for 34 rich result types + JSON-LD/Microdata/RDFa selection)
- GSC Events + documentation update announcement timeline (2022–2026 / 12 documents)
- Google SEO Office Hours highlights (2022.11–2024.08) + summary of 3 major FAQ topics