Google Localization
In the tradition of naming algorithm updates after animals, Google released “Pigeon” in 2014 to make quite an impact on local search results. At the time, it seemed designed to improve map queries, starting with some of the same technology used in other search features, such as “ knowledge graph, spelling correction, synonyms .” Local search was going to be a big thing — and it would only continue to do so, as you’ll see later.
Then, in 2015...
Probably the biggest SEO announcement after 2010 was Google’s April 2015 mobile update, when non-mobile-friendly sites would start to lose rankings. This meant that SEO was no longer about keywords and content — responsive design was important, too.
Google announced the change in advance in February 2015, through switzerland mobile database a mobile-friendly test that allowed webmasters to review potential issues and make changes before rolling it out. This wasn’t Google’s last mobile update — in August 2016, it announced a crackdown on mobile pop-ups.
What's next?
Mobile and Beyond
With mobile device usage on the rise — 51% of digital media is consumed this way, compared to 42% for desktop media — it makes sense that SEO would continue to lean in this direction.