Panda Update

What is the Panda Update? A brief explanation

The Panda Update, also called the Google Update, is an algorithm change made by Google, which, according to Google, relates to the quality of the content of websites. The update first appeared in February 2011, but this is constantly being expanded and changed, so that the search algorithm changes from time to time and thus the Rankbrain, that is, the self-learning algorithm of Google, also changes. Furthermore, there are other regular Google updates, but then they refer to other ranking factors.

Intention of the Panda Update

First and foremost, Google wants to reward the websites that pay attention to the quality of content. Because low-quality websites are displayed in the SERPs further back.

Which ranking factors are affected?

Quality of the content

For Google’s algorithm, the quality of the content is a top priority. Websites that contain too little or poor quality content will be ranked lower due to the Panda Update. As a result, pages whose content has been taken over from other pages or from the company’s own pages fall through the algorithm’s grid and are therefore displayed further down in the search results. Duplicate content is often not displayed at all.

Too much advertising

Websites with too many ads and too little content lose value.

Empty pages

Web pages that provide little to no content and only contain links.

Correct ratio of the website

Pages that have too little website template (navigation, footer, etc.) compared to the actual content will rank lower on Google because they are considered not full-featured.

Readability and quality of the text

How Google evaluates and measures the readability and quality of a text is currently unknown. However, structure, readability, clarity and formatting seem to be taken into account by the Panda Update.

Bad backlinks

If the website contains bad backlinks, Rankbrain will notice and rank further down. So make sure your backlink profile is natural and good.

User data equally important

The dwell time, as well as the bounce rate or the CTR are considered since the Panda Update by Google.

How is the Panda (Google) Update noticeable?

The special thing about the Panda Update is that not only individual pages were penalized by Google’s algorithm changes as before, but the entire website or a subsection are ranked worse.

Conclusion

If you want to continue to be successful and be ranked high on Google, you have to use SEO tools. With the Panda Update Google tries to improve the quality of the search results constantly and therefore asks websites to increase the quality of their pages. Thereby the most different points of view are differentiated. Websites with good content, the right mix of backlinks and ads, as well as good content enable a ranking in the upper range.