Google Announces Panda 4.1 Algorithm Update

Google has announced its release of the latest version of Panda, the filter that is intended to penalize “thin” or poor content from ranking well in its search results.

In a Google+ post, the company explained the details of its improved Panda algorithm as it rolls out. “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,” wrote Google. “This results in a greater diversity of high-quality small and medium-sized sites ranking higher, which is nice.”

This comes as important news to many marketers. For some, this will provide a new chance, and for others, it will result in a new penalty. Anyone who was penalized by Panda in the last update now has a chance to emerge, provided that they have made the correct changes to their content. However, for new websites that have not previously been hit by Panda, it’s possible that the latest update will result in a penalty. Marketers should analyze their web traffic carefully over the coming days to determine whether there has been an increase or decrease, or no change at all, based on the new Panda algorithm.

This update, which is being called Panda 4.1, impacts 3-5% of search queries, making it a fairly major change. While Google claims that the new algorithm is friendlier to smaller sites, is that actually true? Some industry insiders are skeptical, and marketers have the concern that the update could adversely affect their web traffic. Only time will tell. However, providing valuable content is always a positive choice, and the hope is that the Panda update is able to more accurately determine whether or not this is the case with its algorithm.

However, if you’ve noticed a sudden drop in traffic from Google recently, or you notice one over the coming days, it is likely that the latest Panda update is responsible. Some websites will benefit and some will suffer from this change, and therefore marketers of all types will be watching closely as the results of the update unfold.