What in the Name of Google is a Panda?

COGNITIVESEO Infographic Series Cutting Edge Large Scale SEO Analysis What in the name of Google is a "Panda"? The Google "Panda" update, also known as "Farmer" is more than an algorithm update. It is a filter that spots low quality pages from a "user happiness" perspective. What does cognitiveSEO say about "Panda"? The "Panda" update is the logical evolution of an ever growing algorithm. Google attempts to look at sites from a quality point of view, just as a human being would. Google tries to emulate human perception inside an algorithm. The "Panda" timeline about 6 weeks - about 4 weeks +- about 5 weeks 24.02.2011 11.04.2011 10.05.2011 16.06.2011 Panda 2.0, also called "Panda UK", was applied to all English language Google users. Panda 1.0, also called the "US Panda Update", was Panda 2.1 Minor traffic fluctuations Panda 2.2 were noted by many observers.observers. Panda improved scraper detectiontion. released in the US. one week What does "Panda" like? Article Outbound links Trust structure The users must be able to The user has to be entertained. Outbound links can affect the A good headline and lead in, a good structure with internal navigation and subheadings can help. credibility of a site, depending where they lead to, and how many there are. trust the information on the site but also feel secure to fill in personal information, such as credit card data. Domain name Engagement Bounce rate Even the domain name can be a The more time a user spends The bounce rate indicates factor in gaining the user's trust. So choose a good one! on a page, the better for "Panda". how many users leave the site instantly without viewing more than one page. Web design Advertising Google +1 A clean and user friendly web design can improve the user experience significantly. Too many ads can upset the user by distracting him from the main content. Pandas hate that. +1 votes, tweets, Facebook Likes and other social signals count much more now. How to keep a "Panda" happy? Don't show him low quality pages A few low quality pages can impact the whole site's ranking in "Panda's" books. "Panda" is happy when the users are The website must have an over- all look and feel which makes the user want to bookmark it and share it with others. Socialize with him Feed him good content Take advantage of social networks and promote your site on them. The content must be in-depth, without errors and show passion. What happens when "Panda" strikes? More relevant search results "Panda" will give a lower ranking to websites with shallow content and will push the relevant ones up. Aha Less writing jobs The number of writing jobs has dropped significantly but good writers will not at all be affected. Spam Less spam Increased need of SEO services Consulting a SEO specialist can be the best thing to do in case a website is being negatively affected by "Panda". Less spinning articles & dupicate content Piecing articles together by summarizing, scraping or copying from others will be sanctioned by "Panda". Acting from a user experience perspective, "Panda" devalues websites which would usually be considered as "content farms". Have you been bitten by a "Panda"? The "Panda" will only change his opinion about your website after his next evaluation. This might take a few weeks, so the impact will not be immediate. Google announces usually when it lets "Panda's" go out and play, so if you see a sudden drop in your traffic around that time, it might be due to an upset "Panda". How do you spot a "Panda" effect? Winner and Loser Example • guardian.co.uk winner exaple • mahalo.com loser exaple Highlights obvious changes in daily unique visitors numbers Panda 1.0 Panda 2.0 Panda 2.1 Having a look at Google Trends Graphics can help you notice if your site has been affected. Changes can occur after every new release: guardian.co.uk recovers from a downslope after Panda 2.0 (Panda ÚK). mahalo.com has a sudden drop after every "Panda" version release. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Google trends • 2011 Graphic "Panda" still needs to learn Sometimes pages with stolen content are ranking above the ones with the If you notice a sudden traffic drop for an important article, Google a sentence enclosed in quotes. This way you will find out if your article was stolen. original sources. Sources | http://socialmediatoday.com | http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com http://www.seobythesea.com | http://searchengineland.com | http://blog.majesticseo.com | http://tut7.com http://www.seroundtable.com | http://blog.searchmetrics.com | http://www.seomoz.org | http:// squidoo.com http://searchengineland.com Infographic provided by: http://cognitiveseo.com