GoogleAlgorithmUnconfirmed
Maccabees
Unconfirmed December 2017 update reported to affect sites built on large numbers of keyword-permutation landing pages.
What changed
In mid-December 2017 the industry recorded significant volatility affecting sites that had generated many near-duplicate landing pages from keyword permutations. Google confirmed that several minor changes had gone out during the period but did not describe a named update or publish guidance. It is included as a documented but unconfirmed volatility event; only month-level precision is used here.
Not confirmed by the engine. This entry documents a change that was widely observed and reported, but never officially acknowledged. Treat the dates as approximate and the mechanism as inferred.
Timing
Rollout began 1 December 2017. No completion date was announced. Rankings typically remain unstable for the whole rollout window, so measurements taken inside it are not a reliable read on the outcome.