On the 23rd February 2011 we saw the Panda (Farmer) Update with some relatively big changes. The algorithm change/adaption was to reduce the number of low quality content websites which rank higher than the good quality websites. Apparently 12% of search results are affected. Interestingly, instead of using complex algorithms to create the changes, website testers graded websites based on numerous questions.
“There was an engineer who came up with a rigorous set of questions, everything from. “Do you consider this site to be authoritative? Would it be okay if this was in a magazine? Does this site have excessive ads?” Questions along those lines.”
Matt Cutts (Google)
After seeing the webmaster responses in the U.S. from the Panda/Farmer update it won’t be long before it hits the U.K.
So how long will it be before the update occurs? Soon!
What is the algorithm looking for and how can I avoid it? Google is looking for the content farms, lack of unique content and large amounts of advertising. Best bet is to block pages you feel may not pass the algorithm’s analysis e.g.
So how long will it be before the update occurs? Soon!
What is the algorithm looking for and how can I avoid it? Google is looking for the content farms, lack of unique content and large amounts of advertising. Best bet is to block pages you feel may not pass the algorithm’s analysis e.g.
- Duplicate content
- Pages with little content
- Poorly Spun content
- News Feeds/Scraped Content
- Content that is not “useful”
Also it has been said that too much advertising can make a site appear like a content farm, so reduce advertising where possible.
