Ever since Google’s Matt Cutts tweeted “Google is rolling out our Panda 4.0 update starting today” there has been a lot of talk about the exact impact of the update. Full number Panda updates (1.0, 2.0, ect) have always been quite significant in the past, but so far it seems that this one isn’t quite as impactful. According to Cutts, who spoke on a SMX West panel, Google was working on a ‘softer, better’ update to Panda, which it seems 4.0 is.
Like all Panda algorithm updates, this one will focus on punishing low quality sites, and helping those that really benefit viewers. Most people think this latest update is going to further ‘slap’ sites with low quality or stolen content, while helping to benefit smaller sites that have great quality, but limited scope.
This has been a concern for many marketers who don’t have the resources to create major authority sites overnight. Many small businesses have great websites, which provide their customers with the information they need. Some of these businesses, however, have had trouble ranking for their target audience because of their limited size (either in amount of content on their site, backlink profile, or the geographic scope of their target audience.)
Some SEO professionals think that this update will have an overall positive benefit for website owners who are looking to do the ‘right thing’ (in Google’s eyes). If that is the case, this would be the first major update that focuses primarily on improving site rankings for those who are giving good content, rather than just pushing the low quality sites down on the rankings.
Whatever the case, there will undoubtedly be continued speculation on the exact changes that were made with this Panda 4.0 update. Have any of your sites been affected? If so, comment below with your experiences.
