Glenn Gabe says, “In May of 2015, I uncovered a major algorithm update that I called “Phantom 2.” It ended up being a huge update that impacted many websites across the web globally. I’ll explain why it was named “2” and not “1” soon. Google first denied there was an update in early May 2015, but then finally explained that they did indeed roll one out. They said it was a “change to its core ranking algorithm with how it assesses quality.”

And with Google always looking to surface the highest-quality, most relevant information for users, that statement was incredibly important. This led the folks at Search Engine Land to call the May 2015 update Google’s “Quality Update.” (I still like Phantom, but hey, I’m biased!)

Note, and this is important: I called the update “Phantom” simply because it was a mysterious one. Google has not officially named the update Phantom, and from what I gather, they don’t like the name very much at all. So for the rest of the post, both Phantom and Quality Update will be used interchangeably.

In part one of this series, I’ll cover an overview of Google’s quality updates, the history and frequency of updates, how I believe the updates are working and rolling out, and some of their characteristics“.

With Panda in stealth mode, why Google’s quality updates should be on your algorithmic radar [Part 1]

Search Engine Land

Sharing is caring