Around eleven years ago, Google announced an algorithm update that would have a tremendous and profound impact on SEO for many years to come. So, what is the Google Panda Update, and what has been its effect on the search results? Let’s find out
Google Panda Update defined:
It was a major algorithm update that was designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites and reward good rankings for high-quality sites. The low-quality sites would copy the content, were not useful, or would have low-value ads. The high-quality sites were those with original content and had in-depth information details, reports, research, analysis, and more. It started rolling out officially on the 23rd of February 2011. If any company website was hit by a panda, it felt like a penalty but that was exactly the one thing it was not.
Why was it launched?
The main aim was to target low-quality content as Google was trying to find a solution to the content farm problem. This was a website that would pay freelance writers very poorly and in return get as much content from them as possible. The companies were ranking high on Google search engines but with articles low-quality content. Some examples of a content farm website were Demand Media and Suite 101. With the Google Panda update, you can differentiate between low-quality and high-quality sites.
Why Panda?
Amit Singhal, head of Google search, once revealed where the name Panda came from in an interview. It was named after an engineer named Navneet Panda who was one of, the key workers and was also the one who was responsible for this breakthrough in the first place.
How does it work?
Panda is an algorithm that deeply evaluates the overall quality of the whole website. It will identify content that is poorly written or copied from other sources or also very shallow that could hurt rankings. It also helps improve the content by making it more useful to help your rankings. Google then started suggesting fixing the low-quality content by adding more high-quality content instead. On May 6th, 2011, Google had published a list of twenty-three questions on how it searches for high-quality sites, to mention a few of those questions-
Should the information presented in the article be trusted? Does the article have any factual, spelling, or stylistic errors? Is the article written by an expert on the subject matter or is it shallow? Is there a complete description of the topic mentioned in the article? Does it have any insightful information beyond the already stated information? Is this page you would bookmark or share with a friend? Does the article provide original analysis, information reporting, research, and content? Are both sides of the story described? Are the pages produced with great attention to detail and care? Would a customer be comfortable in giving their credit card information to the site? Do the pages give any substantial value? Are there too many ads that interfere with the main content? Would you see this article in a book or printed magazine? Was the article edited well or is it sloppy?
Google Panda today:
Google Panda had an everlasting impact on SEO that has lasted till today. Some notable changes that came from Panda include-
-Content marketing: It wasn’t a big thing before Panda came about. It was born a as result of Panda. The point of it is that your site will get found and once it is found will provide value to its audience and build trust. It is responsible for attracting many visitors to your site.
-E-A-T: The concept of Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness was first discovered during the content farm problem. Essentially it is a way Google tries to ensure that it returns useful, truthful, and accurate information to searchers. Anyone can make a website and publish whatever they want on it. Google always wants to try to reward websites that publish high-quality content.
-Differentiate or die: This is one of the biggest lessons learned during the Panda algorithm. Depending on one channel for all your income and traffic is not a good business plan and is quite a gamble. It is not advisable to leave your business at the mercy of one channel. If one algorithm change can wipe your entire website, then something is wrong.
Wrap Up:
Google panda is playing a major role by making Google search engine results more relevant, authentic, and qualified. By filtering all the unnecessary, irrelevant, and unwanted content from the internet, Google is providing great benefit to all users seeking true information. By understanding the above-mentioned points, we can say that Google Panda has a lot of benefits and is the true measuring standard to promote organic and high-quality content.
