Well, hello there fellow marketer. Got Panda on the mind? Or couldn’t you help from clicking after seeing the hilarious image above? I don't blame you. Whatever your current situation may be it’s likely you’ve heard some rumblings and rants about yet another algorithm update (introduced on May 20, 2014) from the infamous Google web spam team, which is being referred to as Google Panda 4.0. But how is this most recent update any different than the past installments of Panda fun?
This post will explore:
Lets face it, search will never stop evolving and neither will Google's algorithm in their pursuit to construct the best search experience for their users. In fact, Panda updates have been rolling out almost monthly since its introduction in February 2011.
This time around Panda 4.0 is still aiming to clean up weak content in search results. If a website has fluff content without a lot of value to users, yet it's still ranking at the top of search results because of some SEO trickery, Google is looking to replace it in the top search results with sites containing the best content for that particular search query.
But with Panda 4.0, the theme everyone is buzzing about is Content Syndication & Content Duplication.
Panda 4.0 has a mission to expose:
According to the fine people over at Search Engine Journal, the top 10 losers as far as traffic loss are as followed (organic traffic loss percentage is noted):
Ouch, right?! What were all these sites guilty of? They're all aggregators of syndicated or duplicate content. Just because you don't see your site on the list doesn't mean you escaped without a traffic loss yourself. If you've noticed a dip in organic/search engine traffic since May 20 it's likely you've been sniffed out by the Panda.
On the other hand, Panda 4.0 hasn't been all bad. Some sites benefited greatly from this latest update. Sites packed with consistent, regularly published, quality content that engages users and is shared via social media, saw a nice bump in rankings and organic search traffic. This all goes back to the point we've been writing about for more than a year now, that Inbound Marketing is the New SEO.
We're quite passionate here at Weidert Group about the adoption and practice of inbound marketing. We've seen firsthand what the inbound methodology has done for our business and our clients' businesses. We've also seen how an inbound approach to building and maintaining your online presence has allowed us and our clients to weather the storm of algorithm updates as SEO evolves.
If you're late to the party and are feeling the low of reduced traffic and rankings, or fear your site is on the chopping block, it's time to roll up your sleeves and get to work. We've compiled some helpful articles below that we've published to help you on your way. Happy reading!
If Your Content Can Answer These 10 Questions, Google Will Love You
Stop Worrying About Future Google Algorithm Updates Using This One Trick
10 Blogs That Will Turn Your Business Into a Blogging Powerhouse
Blogging: 7 Ways To Get Your Team On Board
Get Your CEO to Say Yes to Inbound Marketing With These Shocking Stats
Weidert Group's 5-Step Guide to the 60-Minute Blog Post
On-Page SEO Best Practices to Follow For 2014
Topics: Search Engine Optimization
