Google Launches the 7th Panda Algorithm Update this year - Is your content up to scratch?

Any update of Google’s search algorithm is always big news in the SEO industry. Back in February 2011, the first so called ‘Panda’ update was launched which sent out a shock-wave that was felt by several high profile website publishers, as well as Internet Marketing companies. Initially launched in the US, the UK Panda update followed shortly after.

What is Google Panda?

In the same way as Google targeted low quality link spamming with previous updates, Panda was aimed specifically at low quality article and web 2.0 sites – sometimes referred to as ‘content farms’. The idea was to penalise webmasters that were publishing low-quality spun or scraped content on sites such as Ezinearticles and Hubpages, usually on an industrial scale, just to get back-links. This meant that several high profile sites that relied heavily on this technique were knocked off their first-page thrones. Although this was a temporary state of affairs in some cases, Google Panda created what was arguably the biggest upset in their update history.

Incidentally, this update is apparently named after Navneet Panda, a Google software engineer.

Good SEO’s have been used to responding to algorithm updates. There have been many over the years. May Day (May 2010) and Caffeine (June 2010) are probably 2 of the best know recent updates to appear. This time however, Google announced that Panda was going to be a regular occurrence. Google has subsequently launched another 6 Panda updates since February 2011 to date but usually remain tight lipped as to the exact intent of each.

So how do I avoid the Google Panda Trap?

To be fair, most of the better content sites have been forced to tighten up their editorial quality control – and rightly so. If you are using content marketing and syndication as part of your overall SEO strategy, which you should, you need to consider the following -

Is my content truly unique or have I just re-hashed an existing article?

This is part of the whole reason Panda exists. Spammers are using automated software that spins and submits articles to thousands of article and content directory sites. This tends to leave a foot-print and Google are pretty smart at spotting this sort of thing.

Is my content too hard sell?

Writing articles that sound like advertisements is the most common mistake that DIY SEO’s make. If you wish to promote a product then instead think about product reviews, buyer guides, how to guides etc. An advert isn’t an advert if it is information.

Is my content well written in the appropriate language?

Content should be written as though it would appear in print with a proper semantic structure. This may also help you score a few points in the searches.

Is my content actually useful?

Try to offer something genuinely useful that is relevant to the site that your are promoting. In my experience, people like guides that list advice such as ’5 ways to improve your breaststroke’.

Why Bother?

Article and content marketing is still a valid technique but it has become a lot harder these days. However, good content is good content regardless of where you publish it and how you use it. If you are producing good quality and useful content then, in theory at least, you should avoid falling prey to the mighty Panda.