Jan 25, 2017 10:00 AM EST By Chris Brandt, UniversityHerald Reporter

In 2016, Google made some changes to its search algorithm that rewarded websites with high-quality content and punish those with low quality. Further into the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017, it began banning websites their algorithm deemed to be producing fake news. So what else should be expected in the coming months?

The first significant change Google has this year is making Penguin real time. Prior to Penguin 4.0, Google's algorithm can detect bad links and low-quality content months after it goes live. With the new update, however, Penguin has become more accurate and responsive as it crawls contents and links on a regular basis. Being real time also means that it is hack-proof which ensures that content is better than ever.

Speaking of quality content, Google started banning fake news websites and its algorithm will continue being vigilant for the rest of 2017. If new challenges arise, it is likely to improve its algorithm once again to ensure that users only get the best content. Furthermore, Penguin 4.0 is constantly checking user-generated posts and kills off spammy content and posts as well as downgrading the search engine where it deems necessary.

Before Google Penguin, when the algorithm flags one article as being low quality or a comment as being spammy, it penalizes the whole website. That meant even a single and accidental mistake can spell doom to your website. However, as Google introduced Penguin 4.0, articles will be judged based on individual merits. That means the possibility of a website being penalized for one single mistake will be much lesser.

Lastly, Google will introduce more changes this 2017; however, these changes will be subtle and unnoticeable. Remember when it introduced Penguin 4.0 in September 2016? No one really noticed it, at least for a period of time. That's because Google designed its algorithm in a modular way to ensure the transition will be seamless and smooth.

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