Google has recently announced an update to its Panda search engine algorithm. The company’s new update, Panda 4.1 is good news for smaller companies, as the goal is to ensure growing organizations with strong online content are ranked more highly. Google UK Webmaster Trends Analyst Pierre Far highlighted the goal of the update during the announcement:
“Based on user (and webmaster!) feedback, we’ve been able to discover a few more signals to help Panda identify low-quality content more precisely. This results in a greater diversity of high-quality small- and medium-sized sites ranking higher, which is nice.”
What does Panda 4.1 mean for growing online companies? Two changes are expected from this new move by Google:
1. A Chance for Redemption for Previously Penalized Firms
The release of Panda 4.1 represents a new opportunity for companies that were penalized in the last Panda update to emerge from their low placement in the rankings. For those who have completed effective changes to their site, such as adding high quality content and removing spam, the Panda 4.1 update will show them how their changes have affected their ranking.
2. Potential Drops in Traffic for New Offenders
For those who have not been researching the search marketplace in recent months, Google is now quick to penalize black hat activities. This new update could see many more companies lose their rankings if their site’s content doesn’t meet Google’s evolving standards.
With this latest update occurring four months after the last, it has been suggested that Google will be changing their algorithms based on a quarterly cycle. This should give proactive webmasters a chance to analyze their current rankings and optimize their site to improve performance should a new update take place, as expected towards the end of the year. Webmasters who have experienced a drop in rankings must review the search industry and go over the methods to comply with Panda best practices and guidelines.
