What’s black, white, and focusing on quality content? Google’s new algorithm update: Panda 4.0.
Yup, you read that right. Another update to the Google search algorithm to send you running to check your website and SEO to ensure you’re showing up in search results.
What do you need to know this time? Well, as we’ve seen with past developments and the general online trend, this update is yet again all about content. Google is pushing hard to drive good, quality sites to the top of their search results and shoddy, low-quality content further down.
Why? Ultimately, Google’s customer is the searcher, and they want users to find the information they’re looking for as quickly as possible. And that means providing results that offers well-written, informative, unique content.
What’s new with Google Panda 4.0?
The new algorithm filter has officially rolled out, as confirmed by Matt Cutts himself on Twitter just last night. First launched in 2011, Panda’s newest version is on-trend to lower the rankings of sites produced by content farms, keyword stuffing, and other low quality content, instead driving the best content to the top to provide the best possible user experience. The update is being referred to as a “softer” Panda, with changes made to how the algorithm identifies websites, and affecting results in different languages to different degrees.
Over the weekend, Google also updated their algorithm targeting “spammy” search query results, often called the Payday Loans update. Together, these two algorithm refreshes will drive good content higher, and push bad results down into the results page abyss.
What does it mean for your website?
Google is always making changes to improve their search engine, and it’s important to keep an eye on the decisions they make regarding “Good” and “Bad” content to ensure your website is performing at its best.
This means it’s more important than ever to keep your writing fresh, your information thorough, and your website built to provide useful information in an organized fashion. Keyword stuffing is the way of the past (it has been for quite some time), but Google makes it clearer and clearer every day that content is king.
Panda 4.0 is more carefully tuned to comb through the web, finely targeted to distinguish and identify website content. This “softer Panda” update is designed to help small businesses do better in search rankings, after taking a hit from previous versions of the algorithm.
At the end of the day, your customer and Google’s customer are one and the same. Therefore your website should be designed to provide the best possible user experience: Write for your audience, not for robotic SEO loopholes.
By creating unique, quality content, your website will stand the test of time regardless of future algorithm updates, benefitting your business and your customers.
- https://twitter.com/mattcutts/status/468891756982185985
- http://searchengineland.com/google-begins-rolling-panda-4-0-now-192043
- http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2345889/Google-Targets-Spammy-Queries-With-Payday-Loans-Algorithm-Update
- http://searchengineland.com/google-working-softer-gentler-panda-algorithm-help-small-businesses-186619
