Creative Brains Marketing

le’s Panda algorithm update was launched 12 years ago

Today marks 12 years since Google released the Panda update. The Panda algorithm update had a profound and lasting impact on SEO and content strategies over the years.

This is a history of the Google Panda algorithm updates.

What was the Google Panda update like?

Google Panda was a significant algorithm update which impacted search rankings in 11.8% of U.S. queries.

Google stated that Panda was created to lower the ranking of low-quality websites (“sites that have low-value added for users, copy material from other sites or sites that are not very useful”), and to reward high-quality sites with original content (“sites with original information and research such as in-depth reports and thoughtful analysis”).

Although the algorithm was officially launched on February 23, 2011, we only learned of it on February 24, 2011.

Panda did not only affect content farms. Panda wreaked havoc on websites of all sizes and across industries.

Multiple reports have been made about companies closing down because they relied on Google traffic for many years. Their business was destroyed once they lost their organic traffic.

Google launched Panda in 2011, and announced updates and refreshes on a nearly monthly basis over the next two years. This guide will provide a detailed timeline as well as our coverage of these updates.

Google Panda wasn’t a penalty. Websites that were impacted by the Google Panda Update were algorithmically downgraded. This means that no Google employee was able to manually cause the lower rankings.

Panda was a penalty for anyone who was affected by it. Google doesn’t view downgrading website rankings algorithmically as a penalty.

Google Panda was launched.

Google Panda’s main focus was on low-quality content. Google tried to solve its content farming problem in 2011.

A “content farm”, as it is commonly known, was a website that hired freelance writers to produce as much content as possible. These companies had one goal: to rank highly in Google’s search results, especially for high-traffic keywords. The quality of articles was often poor.

These content farms had high rankings which meant they received lots of traffic. They monetized the traffic through display advertising. Ironically, many of these sites used Google AdSense. Demand Media is the most famous example of the content farm model. Suite 101 was another large content farm.

It was interesting to note that many of the content problems Google was trying solve in 2010 had been solved by the Caffeine Update. Google began crawling content more quickly and the index grew rapidly. However, it meant that some “shallow content” was ranking prominently.

Business Insider published an article that had the rather simple headline: Google Search Algorithm Has been Ruined, It’s Time to Move Back To Curation. TechCrunch also featured: Why We Desperately Want a New (and better) Google.

Google made headlines with its content farms and SEO industry on February 24, 2011. Google had an easy way to distinguish high-quality websites from low-quality ones.

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Terms.

Google named it Panda because of its unique name.

Amit Singhal (head of Google search), revealed the origins of the Panda name in an interview with Wired.

“Well, we named it after an engineer and his name was Panda. We internally called him a big Panda. He was one the key men. He was the one who made it possible a few months ago.

– Google’s Amit Sharma in 2011

Navneet Pande is the full name of this Google engineer.

The update was not referred to outside of Google as “Panda” when it first launched. Danny Sullivan, Search Engine Land founder, called it the “Farmer” update – until Wired revealed the Panda name. If you see the Farmer name in any of our Panda coverage, it’s because we did.

Google Panda algorithm explained: How it works

Many speculations followed the launch of Google Panda. We won’t repeat the Panda myths here as most of it is obsolete today.

Here’s what we found out about Google Panda and its unique features.

Panda was an algorithm that was applied to websites

Panda evaluates the quality of all websites. This is the most important thing to know about Panda.

Here’s what Gary Illyes (Google webmaster trends analyst) said to Search Engine Land during a 2016 interview.

“… We don’t consider Panda a penalty, but an algorithm that is applied to sites…or sites as a whole.

It looks at the majority of pages to determine the site’s quality. It allows us to rank pages from a site, and adjust the rankings accordingly.

In 2016, Gary Illyes from Google.

Illyes also confirmed that Panda degrades content. This basically means that low-quality content can hurt ranking.

John Mueller, Google’s director of web architecture, also stated that Panda uses site architecture as a way to evaluate website quality.

Was it possible to remove or improve low-quality content?

Michael Wyszomierski (a member of Google’s webspam team) posted a message on a Webmaster Central help thread:

“Our latest update was designed to lower rankings for low-quality websites, so webmasters need to ensure that their sites are of the highest quality. To detect low-quality sites, we looked at several signals. People searching for information on Google don’t necessarily want to see poor quality content, copied content from other websites, or information that isn’t very useful. Webmasters need to be aware that poor quality content can have an impact on a site’s overall ranking. If you feel that you have been negatively affected by the change, you should review all pages on your site and try to improve their quality. Your rankings could improve if you remove low-quality pages or move them to another domain.

– In 2011, Michael Wyszomierski from Google

Important information about Panda

It can detect content that is poorly written or copied from other websites.
Rankings can be hurt by poorly written content.
High-quality pages can be ranked higher by removing low-quality pages.
Your rankings can be improved by improving content (making it more “useful”).

Google later tried to reverse the decision to remove content. Google began to recommend adding high-quality content, and fixing low-quality content. It is likely that many SEO professionals started to apply a metaphorical blowtorch instead of a scalpel to their content.

Illyes stated that Panda was not helped by pruning at SMX East 2017.

It is very possible that your low-quality content prevented you from being Pandalyzed. It is more about making sure that the content that is ranking does not rank higher than it should. … It is not compatible with the current core algorithm and may cause your traffic to drop further. Panda ignores anything you rank artificially. Instead, you should invest resources in improving content. If that is not possible, consider removing it.

– Google’s Gary Illyes, in 2017

Google on how to determine if a website is ‘high-quality.

Google published 23 questions on May 6, 2011 to explain how Google searches high-quality websites. This was to assist those who have been adversely affected by Panda:

Do you believe the information in this article?
Are you an enthusiast or expert who is familiar with the topic? Or are you more casual about writing it?
Is there duplicate, overlapping or redundant content on the site?
Would you feel comfortable submitting your credit card information on this site?
Is there any spelling, stylistic or factual error in this article?
Do the topics reflect genuine reader interests? Or does the site create content by trying to predict what search engines might rank.
Is the article original in content, information, research, or analysis?
Is the page of substantial value compared to other pages found in search results?
What quality control do you have on content?
Is the article able to tell both sides of a story.
Does the site have a reputation for being an authority on its subject?
Are the contents mass-produced or outsourced to many creators or spread across a network of sites so that individual pages don’t get the same attention or care?
Is the article well edited or is it rushed or sloppy?
Would you trust this site for a health-related query?
If you were to mention this site by name, would it be easy for you to recognize it as authoritative?
Is this article a comprehensive or complete description of the topic?
Is this article rich in insightful analysis? Do you have any interesting information that is not obvious?
This page is worth bookmarking, sharing with a friend or recommending.
Are there too many ads in this article that distract from the main content or cause it to be difficult to read?
What would you expect to find this article in a book, encyclopedia, or printed magazine?
Are the articles too short, not substantial, or lacking in useful details?
Do the pages have more detail or less care?
Are users likely to complain about pages on this site?

How to recover from Panda

Anyone whose website was affected by Panda has one big question: How can I recover? Google also provided some additional information, including a link to the post with 23 questions.

Google’s Matt Cutts stated that it was possible for 100% to be recovered during a Google Search Central Hangout from India on July 9, 2012. How?

Take a look at your site and ask yourself: “How compelling is it?” We are looking for high-quality sites. We want something that you love, where you feel happy and can tell others about it. It’s so useful.

Google’s Matt Cutts 2012

Here’s the video

Cutts also shared some high-level insights in a Google Search Central video that was released September 11, 2013.

“… The overriding goal is to ensure that you have high-quality content. It’s the kind of content people love, engaging, the kind that people will refer to or send to friends. Cutts stated that this would be the ultimate goal. …

If you don’t rank as high as you used to, it is a good idea for you to ask yourself, “OK, can I take a look at the quality content on my website?” Are there any duplicates, scraped or copied content that is not as valuable?

– Google’s Matt Cutts 2013

Here’s the video

Panda was incorporated into Google’s core search ranking system

We reported on Jan. 12, 2016 that Panda was now part of Google’s core algorithm. Google has not yet confirmed the exact date.

We know that it occurred sometime in 2015, according to Google’s guide for Google Search ranking systems. This was after Google’s last Panda update (4.2) on July 17, 2015.

Mueller stated that Google’s search engine engineers had still modified Panda in June 2016. However, it was the fundamental same algorithm.

Panda was replaced with Coati

Technically, Panda is no longer in existence. This is because Panda was converted to a new algorithm called Coati a while later.

Google Coati was basically the successor to Panda. This information was provided by Hyung-Jin Kim (VP of Google Search), in November at SMX Next 222.

Even though Panda has been replaced many years ago, Panda survived through Coati as part of Google’s core algorithm.

Google Panda’s legacy

Google Panda continues to have an impact on SEO today, more than a decade since its launch. These are only three of the major changes made by Panda.

E–E-A–T. The content farm problem can be traced back the concept of Expertise and Authoritativeness as well as Trustworthiness. Google will always reward websites that provide high-quality content from experts in a particular field. These guidelines provide the best guideline for not being a content farm.
Content Marketing. The term Content Marketing was not a common term before Panda. Google Trends will show you when this term began to gain popularity. This is not a coincidence. Although the term may have been around since 1996, and marketing is as old as the concept itself, content marketing was created by Panda.

Be different or die. One of the most important lessons from Google Panda was to not put all your eggs into one basket. Google is not the best example. Relying solely on one channel to generate all or almost all of your traffic or income is not a good business strategy. It’s a gamble. You should never be at the mercy one channel. You have no control over third-party platforms or channels. You are doing something wrong if one algorithm change could wipe out your entire company in an instant.

The complete Google Panda Updates timeline

Here’s a complete list of all confirmed Panda updates and refreshes. We didn’t discuss the differences between an update and a refresh. An update was a change in the Google Panda algorithm. A refresh meant that Google reapplied all signals from the latest update.

This is Search Engine Land’s coverage on Panda from 2011 through 2016.