5 years ~302 English posts(~227 zh-cn translations).Core themes: AMP origins and expansion, the long march of Mobile-First Indexing (2016-2020), Search Console rebuild (2018), HTTPS enforcement (2017 Chrome marks Not Secure), evergreen Googlebot (2019), systematization of Rich Cards/Results, COVID emergency response.Writing style: John Mueller fully took over + Martin Splitt started the JS SEO battlefield + Daniel Waisberg took over SC announcements. Matt Cutts had already left.
2016 — AMP + Penguin 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(real-time)
- 2016-11 Mobile-First Indexing concept first made public (rollout started 2018, completed 2020)
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 (moved to PageSpeed Insights)
- 2016-05: Introducing 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 push)
- 2016-09: Penguin is now part of our core algorithm(2016-09-23)
- 2016-09: Showcase your site's reviews in Search
- 2016-10: AMP testing improvements
- 2016-11: Mobile-first indexing(2016-11-04)— concept announcement + webmaster preparation
- 2016-11: Here's to more HTTPS on the web!
- 2016-11: Building Indexable Progressive Web Apps(early discussion of PWA + SEO)
- 2016-12: Editor's Choice column in Google News
2017 — Job posting SD + HTTPS NOT Secure warning (42 posts)
Major events:
- 2017-06 Job posting SD launched(Jobs on Search, changed the SEO landscape for job platforms, see Complete Google Search Central Case Studies (13 + landing page) for 5 job cases)
- 2017-07 Starting with Chrome 62, HTTP form input = "Not Secure" warning(second wave of HTTPS enforcement)
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(complete explanation of crawl budget)
- 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(snippet control improvements)
- 2017-06: Connect to job seekers with Google Search(JobPosting SD launch)
- 2017-07: Next steps toward more connection security
- 2017-08: The new Search Console: a sneak peek at two experimental features(SC redesign preview)
- 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
- 2017-12: A 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(Rich Cards → Rich Results rename)
- 2017-12: #NoHacked 3.0 series (hacked sites + remediation, 4 posts)
- 2017-12: Webmaster Video Series (new)
2018 — Search Console rebuild + Mobile-First official rollout (46 posts)
Core events:2018-03-26 Mobile-First Indexing rollout started(site-by-site migration began) + 2018-08 New Search Console beta released.
Key posts
- 2018-01: Real-world data in PageSpeed Insights (origin of field data)
- 2018-01: Using page speed in mobile search ranking(speed entered mobile ranking)
- 2018-02: 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(rollout started!)
- 2018-04: We updated our job posting guidelines
- 2018-06: Introducing the Indexing API for job posting URLs(Indexing API launch)
- 2018-06: New URL inspection tool and more in Search Console(major URL Inspection milestone)
- 2018-07: A big step for Chrome security: HTTP pages now show "not protected"(Chrome 68)
- 2018-08: The new Search Console is graduating out of Beta
- 2018-10: Introducing reCAPTCHA v3: the new way to stop bots
- 2018-11: PageSpeed Insights, now powered by Lighthouse(architecture upgrade)
- 2018-12: Mobile-First indexing, structured data, images, and your site(complete set of guidelines)
- 2018-12: Rich Results expands for Question and Answer pages(QAPage SD)
- 2018-12: Why and how to secure your website with the HTTPS protocol
2019 — evergreen Googlebot + nofollow → sponsored/ugc + Goodbye Flash(63 posts)
3 major events:
- 2019-05 evergreen Googlebot launched — Googlebot no longer stuck on Chrome 41, upgrades automatically, huge leap for JS rendering
- 2019-09 Evolving "nofollow" — new sponsored + ugc attributes, nofollow changed to a "hint"
- 2019-10 Goodbye Flash — Flash indexing fully deprecated
Key posts
- 2019-01: Dynamic Rendering with Rendertron(2019 dynamic rendering recommendation, later deprecated)
- 2019-02: Consolidating your website traffic on canonical URLs
- 2019-02: Announcing domain-wide 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(Martin Splitt's main battlefield)
- 2019-03: This year in Search Spam — Webspam report 2018
- 2019-04: Enriching Search Results Through Structured Data
- 2019-04: Instant-loading AMP pages from 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
- 2019-05: Monitoring structured data with Search Console
- 2019-05: New in structured data: FAQ and How-to(⚠️ FAQ deprecated in 2026, but launched at this time)
- 2019-05: The new evergreen Googlebot(milestone!)
- 2019-06: A video series on SEO myths for web developers
- 2019-06: Bye Bye Preferred Domain setting (removed from SC settings)
- 2019-07: Formalizing the Robots Exclusion Protocol Specification(REP RFC standardization)
- 2019-07: Google's robots.txt parser is now open source
- 2019-07: A note on unsupported rules in robots.txt (crawl-delay etc. not supported)
- 2019-08: What site owners should know about Google's August 2019 core update(core update series took shape)
- 2019-09: Saying goodbye to the old Search Console(old WMT UI fully removed)
- 2019-09: Evolving "nofollow" – new ways to identify the nature of links(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(max-snippet etc. launched)
- 2019-10: Goodbye, Flash(2020-12 EOL)
- 2019-10: New reports for video results in Search Console
- 2019-10: Site Kit is now available for all WordPress sites
- 2019-10: Updating the user agent of Googlebot
- 2019-11: New reporting for Products Results in Search Console
- 2019-11: Get faster with the new Speed report in Search Console(early form of Core Web Vitals)
- 2019-12: Launching the event experience on Google Search in Spain and Germany
- 2019-12: Launching a new Publisher Center
- 2019-12: Package Tracking Early Access Program
2020 — COVID + Mobile-First full web + Webmasters → Search Central (54 posts)
3 major events:
- 2020-03 Mobile-First Indexing for the whole web announced(2021-03 switch date)
- 2020 COVID emergency response — multiple posts on virtual events / business pause guidance
- 2020-11 Goodbye Google Webmasters, hello Google Search Central!(brand rebrand)
Key posts
- 2020-01: Sunsetting support for data-vocabulary(SD only retains schema.org)
- 2020-01: Get Ready for New SameSite=None; Secure Cookie Settings
- 2020-01: New Removals report in Search Console
- 2020-01: Search Console Training video series launched
- 2020-02: More and better data export in Search Console
- 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!(2021-03 deadline)
- 2020-03: Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Webmaster Conference(shift to virtual)
- 2020-03: How to pause your business online in Google Search(COVID emergency playbook)
- 2020-04: Introducing a new way for sites to highlight COVID-19 announcements(SpecialAnnouncement SD, deprecated 2025)
- 2020-05: Evaluating page experience for a better web(⭐ Page Experience concept first announced, eve of Core Web Vitals)
- 2020-05: Frequently asked questions about JavaScript and links
- 2020-05: New reports for Guided Recipes on Assistant in Search Console
- 2020-05: New reports for Special Announcements in Search Console
- 2020-05: Hello Search Console. Nice to meet you!(Webmaster Tools → Search Console completed)
- 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(first version of policy that spam reports do not directly lead to manual actions)
- 2020-07: Prepare for mobile-first indexing (with a little extra time)(COVID delayed original deadline)
- 2020-07: The Rich Results Test is out of beta
- 2020-08: Identify and fix AMP Signed Exchange errors in Search Console
- 2020-08: Make the licensing information for your images visible on Google Images(Image License Metadata SD)
- 2020-08: Search Off The Record podcast - behind the scenes with Search Relations(podcast launched)
- 2020-08: Join our first Virtual Webmaster Unconference(origin of Unconference, started 2020)
- 2020-09: Googlebot will soon speak HTTP/2
- 2020-09: New Schema.org support for retailer shipping data(early shipping SD)
- 2020-09: Sharing what we learned on the first Virtual Webmaster Unconference
- 2020-10: Best practices for Black Friday and Cyber Monday pages
- 2020-11: Goodbye Google Webmasters, hello Google Search Central(⭐ brand rebrand)
- 2020-11: We moved! Introducing the new home for the Google Webmaster Blogs(domain moved to developers.google.com)
- 2020-11: New and improved crawl stats for your site
- 2020-11: Timing for bringing page experience to Google Search(2021-05 Page Experience launched)
- 2020-12: A weird year in review(COVID summary)
Summary of era characteristics
5 major milestones in 5 years (by importance)
- The full long march of Mobile-First Indexing(2016-11 announce → 2018-03 launch → 2019-05 new domains default → 2020-03 full web → 2023-10 completion)— 7 years in total
- HTTPS enforcement(2014-08 ranking signal → 2017-07 Chrome form warnings → 2018-07 all HTTP "Not Secure" → 2018-02 full manifesto post)
- New Search Console(2017 sneak peek → 2018-08 beta release → 2019-09 old SC fully decommissioned)
- AMP origins(2016-01 launch → 2016-08 entered Search → 2019-04 Signed Exchange → 2020 gradual decline)
- evergreen Googlebot(2019-05) — golden age of JS SEO began
Major new features
- Rich Cards → Rich Results(2017-12 rename)
- Indexing API(2018-06, only jobs + broadcast)
- URL Inspection tool(2018-06)
- FAQ / How-to SD(2019-05; ⚠️ FAQ deprecated 2026-05, How-to changed 2023-08)
- nofollow → sponsored + ugc(2019-09)
- Robots.txt parser open source(2019-07)
- REP RFC standardization(2019-07)
- Speed report(2019-11, early CWV form)
- Page Experience concept(2020-05)
- Image License Metadata SD(2020-08)
- Search Off the Record podcast(2020-08)
- Search Central Unconference(2020-08)
Dead features (died in this era)
- ❌ Flash indexing(2019-10 Goodbye Flash)
- ❌ data-vocabulary SD(2020-01)
- ❌ Old Search Console UI(2019-09)
- ❌ Mobile-Friendly Test API Standalone (2016 moved to PageSpeed Insights)
- ❌ Preferred Domain setting(2019-06)
- ❌ Dynamic Rendering recommendation (2019 recommendation → later deprecated)
SD left behind by COVID
- SpecialAnnouncement SD(launched 2020-04)→ deprecated 2025-04
- Event SD 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
- AMP origins + evolution → 2016-01/08/09 + 2017-11 + 2019-04 + 2020-08
- Mobile-First Indexing long march → 2016-11 + 2017-12 + 2018-03 + 2019-05 + 2020-03/07
- HTTPS enforcement → 2017-07 + 2018-02/07
- Search Console rebuild → 2017-08 + 2018-02/06/08 + 2019-09
- evergreen Googlebot → 2019-05
- FAQ How-to launch → 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
- Goodbye Flash → 2019-10
- Rebrand to Search Central → 2020-11
Cross-references
- Google Search Central Blog author directory (80 people) — John Mueller fully took over / Martin Splitt started JS SEO / Daniel Waisberg led SC / Lizzi Sassman started out
- GSC Blog 2011-2015: The Algorithm Wave Era (Panda / Penguin / Hummingbird / Mobilegeddon / Knowledge Graph) — Continuing the Penguin/Mobilegeddon era
- GSC Blog 2021-2026: The Helpful Content / Page Experience / AI Overviews Era — Continuing the helpful content + AI era
- The Complete JavaScript SEO Suite (Fundamentals + Diagnostics + Dynamic Rendering + Lazy Loading) — The complete modern JS SEO suite
- The Complete Guide to Googlebot Crawling Mechanisms and Indexing Control (URL/Links/Mobile-first/Meta/Testing/AMP) — 13 modern Mobile-first indexing errors
- How to Use the Search Console + Analytics + Trends Trio (Traffic Diagnostics / Keyword Research / Looker Studio) — 8 categories of modern SC reports
- The Complete Guide to Canonicals / Redirects / Site Migrations (including full HTTP status code table + 503 temporary closure playbook) — 3 mandatory modern HTTPS enforcement methods
Sources and related materials
- GSC Blog 2011-2015: The Algorithm Wave Era (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 Complete JavaScript SEO Suite (Fundamentals + Diagnostics + Dynamic Rendering + Lazy Loading)
- How to Use the Search Console + Analytics + Trends Trio (Traffic Diagnostics / Keyword Research / Looker Studio)