
Yes everyone, the next Google Panda update is possibly this weekend. Don’t panic, Zeno is here to help you straighten out your Search Engine Optimisation headaches. For those of you who have their SEO up and running, or for those of you who are just getting started, here are a few pointers to help you refresh your system…
So, what’s a Google Panda update then?
Google’s Head of Web Spam, Matt Cutts, first launched Google Panda and hitting websites on 24th February 2011 and since then, there have been 23 updates. Panda aims to put a stop to websites with low quality or poor content. These are also known as “thin sites”. This results in legitimate websites having a higher ranking in the SERPs (search engine results page) and the thin sites having a lower ranking or being removed. Panda updates are great for the websites who put in the regular work and have consistently reliable sources.
This doesn’t mean everyone is safe, it just means that for the websites who believe they already have a high quality score the update will be less weighted towards them. Here are the five key areas of concern:
1. Purchased links
2. Low quality content
3. Duplication of webpages to target keywords
4. Excessive advert proportion
5. Empty pages
Some of these issues are purely accidental, whereas others are the result of pointless expenditure (typically points 1 & 3). Nobody likes a cheat and neither does Google. Purchasing links or doubling your number of web pages to optimise your keywords are no longer worthwhile. Throwing money at what used to be quick gains is no longer the answer and certainly not the long-term solution. It doesn’t always buy quality and will no longer give the results desired for high-ranking SERPs.
The other issues to address can be laid at the feet of poor design, bad keyword choices or simply a lack of regular website check-ups and content updates. These can be addressed easily:
Look into your visits-per-page; are they low due to the number of web pages? If they are, try replacing your low quality content with more relevant, higher quality content or redirect the page altogether.
Excessive adverts on web pages will usually drive visitors away. Adverts should compliment the content not completely override it. If your webpage suffers from broken links or empty pages, you need to have regular check-ups. Remember building a website is an on-going task.
No website is perfect, but at Zeno we believe that our honesty and integrity is reflected in our ethics as a marketing company. We want to provide a high quality score for our clients through to our content. Taking shortcuts or cheating the system is something we do not advise.
The original article found on HubSpot has further in-depth information, along with some interesting visual displays if you’re still feeling a bit confused. The article also has insightful comments from fellow webmasters and bloggers, explaining their opinion on Panda updates.