Google Launches a New Panda Update, States Penguin is Coming!
September ended with a bang when Google announced the launch of a new Panda algorithm update which began rolling out
on or about Tuesday, 9/23. The update, which was stated to affect around 3-5% of queries depending on the locale, is the
first official notice from Google since May’s Panda 4.0.
Per the announcement from Google UK Engineer Pierre Far, this new update incorporates user and webmaster feedback to more precisely identify low-quality content. The goal of the update is to better surface higher-quality small and medium-sized sites in the search results. Because of the relatively “small” nature of the update (Panda 4.0 affected 7.5% of Global English queries) this update is being referred to as Panda 4.1.
Search data and tools company Searchmetrics published a Panda 4.1 Winners and Losers report and some trends were easily viewable: winners were predominantly news, content sites, and download portals while losers reflected games, lyric, and medical/health information sites.
Our own penalty professional, Casey Markee, has reported several of his clients recorded noticeable recoveries and even a couple were referenced on the Searchmetrics “Winner” list. His approach to these recoveries hasn’t changed and reflects the advice we’ve been providing our subscribers for years:
- Read our detailed resources on Panda, specifically our last update on 4.0, which contains a checklist for recovery.
- Understand the difference between high-quality content and thin content and how to differentiate between them in Google Analytics.
- Hire a
