Google Algorithm 2004 Updates

2004 Updates

Google IPO — August 2004

Although obviously not an algorithm update, a major event in Google's history - Google sold 19M shares, raised $1.67B in capital, and set their market value at over $20B. By January 2005, Google share prices more than doubled.
Google IPO priced at $85 a share (CNN)

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Brandy — February 2004

Google rolled out a variety of changes, including a massive index expansion, Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI), increased attention to anchor text relevance, and the concept of link "neighborhoods." LSI expanded Google's ability to understand synonyms and took keyword analysis to the next level.
Google's Brandy Update Exposed (WebProNews)
How To Beat Google's "Brandy" Update (SitePoint)

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Austin — January 2004

What Florida missed, Austin came in to clean up. Google continued to crack-down on deceptive on-page tactics, including invisible text and META-tag stuffing. Some speculated that Google put the "Hilltop" algorithm into play and began to take page relevance seriously.
The latest on update Austin (Google's January update) (SEJ)
Google Update Austin: Google Update Florida Again (Search-Marketing.info)