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How many days has it been since the last Google Penguin Update?

Caught by the Penguin anti-spam filter and fixed your site? Here's how long you've been waiting for a chance to be released.

Danny Sullivan on September 6, 2016 at 5:35 pm

The Google Penguin Update is a filter designed to help Google combat severe forms of spam in its search results. This page tells you how long it has been since the last Penguin Update, which is helpful for those hoping to escape the penalty.

Penguin operates on a periodic basis. When it happens, it catches and penalizes a set of sites. It also releases some sites previously caught, if they’ve reformed themselves in a way that Google likes.

During the time between updates, any sites penalized by Penguin remain that way until a fresh update happens. Even if they correct problem areas, the penalty carries on until the next Penguin update happens. That’s a wait that can last for over a year.

Below is our clock that counts the days since the last Penguin update:

Here are the exact dates of all Penguin Updates since the filter was first developed by Google:

Here are dates of all Penguin releases and the time elapsed from the previous update:

Penguin 1.0 on April 24, 2012
Penguin 1.1 on May 26, 2012 (one month)
Penguin 1.2 on October 5, 2012 (four months)
Penguin 2.0 on May 22, 2013 (five months)
Penguin 2.1 on Oct. 4, 2013 (four months)
Penguin 3.0 on October 17, 2014 (one year)

For more about the Penguin Update, including all our latest news and developments on it, see our Penguin Update page.

About The Author

Danny Sullivan

Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land, Marketing Land, MarTech Today and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.