Google’s own webmaster trends analyst, John Mueller, gives us insight into the technical world of SEO analysis and search ranking algorithms.
Google panda is a search filter that was first introduced in 2011. This update was meant to clean up Google’s top search results based on the quality of a web page’s SEO copy writing, excluding poor quality sites with duplicate content. Panda is updated from time to time in order to allow sites who have made significant changes a chance to regain top spots. Similarly, poor quality sites that previously escaped may be docked.
Google says a Panda refresh began on July 18th 2015 but will take months to fully roll out. Google said this affected about 2%–3% of English language queries. These algorithms and updates further confirm that quality SEO copy writing is a necessity for all companies hoping to be found digitally.
John Mueller, Google analyst explains “this [Panda rollout] is actually pretty much a similar update to before. For technical reasons we are rolling it out a bit slower. It is not that we are trying to confuse people with this. It is really just for technical reasons.”
For technical reasons, this Panda update has been being slow rolled since July. So what exactly is being evaluated? Everything from quality SEO copy writing (no thin content, no duplicates) and coding, to user reviews, page speed, and so much more.
John continues, “…It is not that we are crawling slowly. We are crawling and indexing normal, and we are using that content as well to recognize higher quality and lower quality sites.”
At Kirk Digital, a data driven SEO Company, we can set you up for success with algorithms such as Google Panda. Working with a team that understands the intricacies of search ranking can put your company on the map!
