This week kicked off with the announcement of Panda 4.0, and since then it has been shaking things up across the web.
The Panda algorithm is Google’s effort to keep low-quality sites low in rank, and return higher-quality sites towards the top of the search results. Since 2011, Panda has undergone frequent data refreshes and updates, but many times they aren’t announced or confirmed. So, when the head of Google’s webspam team, Matt Cutts, announced the release of 4.0 SEO specialists began speculating about its significance.
According to searchmetrics, Panda 4.0 is rumored to be a major update that will serve as the platform for future algorithmic changes. The update is said to be “softer” than many of the previous Panda updates. Additionally, this version of Panda has the goal of helping smaller businesses rank higher in search results.
Many sites across the web have started to feel the impact from Panda 4.0, and the results aren’t exactly what you would’ve expected. A searchmetrics analysis indicated that among the top websites adversely impacted by the update include ask.com, yellowpages.com, and ebay.com.
Some of the sites positively impacted by Panda include glassdoor.com and buzzfeed.com. Similiarly, wordpress.com brought in more traffic from the update as well. To see the full list, check out this post by searchmetrics!
I’m sure we’ll continue to see how websites have been affected by Panda 4.0 within the next few weeks!
Was your site ranking affected by Panda 4.0?
Marie Dodson is an editorial assistant at Torque. She graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Biology and Society. She enjoys wine, good books, and travel.
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