After nearly twelve months since its last update, Google has recently announced that it is rolling out its refresh of Panda with Panda 4.2. You may not have noticed anything different yet, as Google has said that it will take several months to complete, but as a Search Engine Optimisation Company, we like to keep a close eye on these sorts of things for you. So, here is what we know:

Since it rolled out Panda back in 2011, Google has put the emphasis firmly on quality content and has begun to remove irrelevant content and spam from its indexing. Changes to the search engine algorithm are site-wide and so will affect your whole domain which means that, if your site was affected by the original Panda update and you have made changes, then you will likely see an improvement in your ranking. However, Google has recently confirmed that this refresh will probably only affect about 2-5% of search queries, compared to the 3-5% the previous refresh affected and 7.5% when Panda was first introduced. It is important to note that this percentage of queries affected isn’t just those pages that were lost from the search results, it also includes those that made a return to the results as well.

One thing that Google has made clear to search engine optimisation companies is that Panda 4.2  is a “refresh” and not an “update” – this means that Google is reapplying the identical signals from the last Panda update to this refresh too.

If you weren’t aware of the Panda update before now, then, unfortunately, there is nothing you can do at the moment to make changes to affect your ranking. If you do make changes now, they won’t have any effect on your ranking until after the next update – whenever that will be. However, having said that, it is always a good idea to keep updating your content on a regular basis anyway, as it looks like Google will be increasingly focussing on good quality content moving forwards.  We always encourage our clients to create fresh, shareable, innovative content,  whether in the form of a Blog, News Article or even adding new pages to your website,  if they don’t have the time or capacity then that’s where our qualifies SEO content writing team can assist.

Up until now, there has been little evidence of the refresh, though, and many digital marketing agencies have more questions about it than answers. We don’t really know yet who the refresh is targeting, how we will know if sites have been hit, or exactly what kind of content Google wants to ensure the sites we look after are safe. All we can do is tell you that the main aim that Google had with the first Panda roll-out was to punish content mills, to do away with keyword stuffing, and basically rid the internet of any unsavoury practices that exploited their previous search engine algorithms. So, as long as you are focussing on well-written, original content, or your SEO Company is on your behalf, then you should be OK.

It all sounds simple doesn’t it, and maybe that is the point! Google doesn’t want unscrupulous search engine optimisation companies trying to game the system or find loopholes to retain their rankings. Google wants to reward websites that give its users quality informative content in an easy to understand format.

If you want more information on how Zool,  a Cheshire based search engine optimisation company can help you with your SEO and the implications of Google’s Panda 4.2 update, then please give us a call on: 01625 238 770 or email us at [email protected]

SaveSave

What We Learnt from the Panda 4.2 Google Algorithm Update

  /  

After nearly twelve months since its last update, Google has recently announced that it is rolling out its refresh of Panda with Panda 4.2. You may not have noticed anything different yet, as Google has said that it will take several months to complete, but as a Search Engine Optimisation Company, we like to keep a close eye on these sorts of things for you. So, here is what we know:

Since it rolled out Panda back in 2011, Google has put the emphasis firmly on quality content and has begun to remove irrelevant content and spam from its indexing. Changes to the search engine algorithm are site-wide and so will affect your whole domain which means that, if your site was affected by the original Panda update and you have made changes, then you will likely see an improvement in your ranking. However, Google has recently confirmed that this refresh will probably only affect about 2-5% of search queries, compared to the 3-5% the previous refresh affected and 7.5% when Panda was first introduced. It is important to note that this percentage of queries affected isn’t just those pages that were lost from the search results, it also includes those that made a return to the results as well.

One thing that Google has made clear to search engine optimisation companies is that Panda 4.2  is a “refresh” and not an “update” – this means that Google is reapplying the identical signals from the last Panda update to this refresh too.

If you weren’t aware of the Panda update before now, then, unfortunately, there is nothing you can do at the moment to make changes to affect your ranking. If you do make changes now, they won’t have any effect on your ranking until after the next update – whenever that will be. However, having said that, it is always a good idea to keep updating your content on a regular basis anyway, as it looks like Google will be increasingly focussing on good quality content moving forwards.  We always encourage our clients to create fresh, shareable, innovative content,  whether in the form of a Blog, News Article or even adding new pages to your website,  if they don’t have the time or capacity then that’s where our qualifies SEO content writing team can assist.

Up until now, there has been little evidence of the refresh, though, and many digital marketing agencies have more questions about it than answers. We don’t really know yet who the refresh is targeting, how we will know if sites have been hit, or exactly what kind of content Google wants to ensure the sites we look after are safe. All we can do is tell you that the main aim that Google had with the first Panda roll-out was to punish content mills, to do away with keyword stuffing, and basically rid the internet of any unsavoury practices that exploited their previous search engine algorithms. So, as long as you are focussing on well-written, original content, or your SEO Company is on your behalf, then you should be OK.

It all sounds simple doesn’t it, and maybe that is the point! Google doesn’t want unscrupulous search engine optimisation companies trying to game the system or find loopholes to retain their rankings. Google wants to reward websites that give its users quality informative content in an easy to understand format.

If you want more information on how Zool,  a Cheshire based search engine optimisation company can help you with your SEO and the implications of Google’s Panda 4.2 update, then please give us a call on: 01625 238 770 or email us at [email protected]

SaveSave