Google’s John Mueller said on Twitter that when it comes to Google’s search algorithms they try to go as granular as possible. But in the older days, the older Google updates may have been broader, he said.

Here is John’s tweet:

Let me try to give examples of what I think John is saying.

Panda was an algorithm that generally impacted the site as a whole. Penguin became more granular over time as well with Penguin 4.

Google prefers to look at metrics and URLs and links on an individual granular basis, when possible.

Forum discussion at Twitter.