{
  "schema_version": "1.1",
  "id": "google-updates-algorithm-500-600-times-a-year",
  "slug": "google-updates-algorithm-500-600-times-a-year",
  "url": "https://groundedkit.com/claims/google-updates-algorithm-500-600-times-a-year/",
  "api_url": "https://groundedkit.com/api/claims/google-updates-algorithm-500-600-times-a-year.json",
  "claim": "Google changes its search algorithm 500 to 600 times a year",
  "commonly_cited_as": "\"Google updates its algorithm 500–600 times per year\"",
  "verdict": "outdated",
  "verdict_definition": "Source found and quoted correctly, but old enough that the market has changed.",
  "confidence": "high",
  "rating": {
    "value": 3,
    "best": 5,
    "worst": 1
  },
  "origin": {
    "publisher": "Google",
    "title": "How Search Works: Rigorous testing",
    "year": "2024"
  },
  "quote": "In 2023, we ran over 700,000 experiments that resulted in more than 4,000 improvements to Search. We evaluate Search in multiple ways. In 2023, we ran: 4,781 launches 16,871 live traffic experiments 719,326 search quality tests",
  "method": "Google's own count of Search launches and evaluations for 2023.",
  "drift": [
    "Age: '500–600' dates from around 2010; Google reported 4,781 launches in 2023",
    "Most launches are small; only a few a year are announced 'core updates'"
  ],
  "interest": "Google describing its own processes.",
  "safe_rephrasing": "Google says it made 4,781 launches to Search in 2023 after more than 700,000 experiments; the old '500–600 updates a year' figure is long out of date.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Google — How Search Works: Rigorous testing",
      "url": "https://www.google.com/search/howsearchworks/how-search-works/rigorous-testing/",
      "primary": true
    }
  ],
  "kind": "stat_check",
  "as_of": "2023 figures",
  "last_checked": "2026-10-16",
  "stale": false,
  "date_reviewed": "2026-10-16",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0",
  "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}