Whether or not you’ve been affected by
Google’s most recent update, it’s important to understand the change in
the search engine algorithm for every business.
Google Algorithms Defined
First and foremost let’s review exactly what we mean when we’re talking about a “Google algorithm update.” Each search engine (Google, Yahoo, Bing) has their own algorithm for ranking websites in organic search, but for the sake of our discussion on Panda we will be speaking strictly of Google.
Google’s algorithm is the program used by Google to rank websites on its search results pages. Several hundreds of factors are used by Google’s algorithm to assign a rank to a page for a given search query. The algorithm calculates a relevancy score based on page content and site popularity. The site’s popularity is determined by its own algorithm, calculated by search volume, site structure and the number of quality backlinks.
What Panda Means
Each major algorithm and subsequent refresh is named by Google. The first Panda update was in February of 2011, as part of Google’s initial push toward user-based search results. It targeted primarily content, in opposition to its counterpart Penguin, which targeted primarily backlink profiles.
Panda 2011 Stats
Panda 2014 Stats
Who is Affected?
The correlation is obvious between the sites that were hit in this second round of content targeting. The biggest (or most publicized) drop in organic rankings was eBay.
eBay lost an estimated 75-80% of their first page rankings for key product terms. Why did they get hit so hard? The popular e-commerce site is a perfect example of the Panda target—many of their pages have thin, duplicate content, and there are tons of “doorway” pages—pages with a lot of links and little content.
When you search for specific products and see an organic search result for eBay’s site, it’s leading you to a doorway page like this one:
Sites with thousands of category pages like eBay may see similar results if they aren’t offering informative content on these hubs. This also helps to promote Google’s own Product Listing Ads:
Google is pushing eBay to use PLAs in order to combat the drop in product pages from organic rankings if they want to continue to stay in front users searching for specific products. Good for Google’s business, yes—but also the best user experience.
How you Can Combat Panda
If you have already taken a hit with the latest update, or you’re in danger of being affected in the future, there are steps you can take to combat the organic ranking drops.
Unfortunately, when it comes to Google Algorithm updates, many businesses won’t know about them or what these updates entail until they’re rankings begin to slide. If you’re concerned about where you site stands or want to learn more about combating Google’s recent update and maintaining (and improving) your rankings, click here to schedule a complimentary, 20-minute SEO evaluation with a Stream SEO strategist via Business 2 Community.
.
Google Algorithms Defined
First and foremost let’s review exactly what we mean when we’re talking about a “Google algorithm update.” Each search engine (Google, Yahoo, Bing) has their own algorithm for ranking websites in organic search, but for the sake of our discussion on Panda we will be speaking strictly of Google.
Google’s algorithm is the program used by Google to rank websites on its search results pages. Several hundreds of factors are used by Google’s algorithm to assign a rank to a page for a given search query. The algorithm calculates a relevancy score based on page content and site popularity. The site’s popularity is determined by its own algorithm, calculated by search volume, site structure and the number of quality backlinks.
Related Resources from B2C
» Free Webcast: Native Advertising - What Is It & Why Content Marketers Should Care
When we speak of algorithm updates and changes, these are adjustments
to these calculations that make the results for a given search phrase
more relevant.» Free Webcast: Native Advertising - What Is It & Why Content Marketers Should Care
What Panda Means
Each major algorithm and subsequent refresh is named by Google. The first Panda update was in February of 2011, as part of Google’s initial push toward user-based search results. It targeted primarily content, in opposition to its counterpart Penguin, which targeted primarily backlink profiles.
Panda 2011 Stats
- Affected 12% of search results
- Thin content
- Content farms
- Sites with high ad-to-content ratios
- Duplicate content
- Spammy quality content
Panda 2014 Stats
- Affected 7.5% of search results
- Thin content
- Duplicate content
- Irrelevant page targeting
Who is Affected?
The correlation is obvious between the sites that were hit in this second round of content targeting. The biggest (or most publicized) drop in organic rankings was eBay.
eBay lost an estimated 75-80% of their first page rankings for key product terms. Why did they get hit so hard? The popular e-commerce site is a perfect example of the Panda target—many of their pages have thin, duplicate content, and there are tons of “doorway” pages—pages with a lot of links and little content.
When you search for specific products and see an organic search result for eBay’s site, it’s leading you to a doorway page like this one:
Sites with thousands of category pages like eBay may see similar results if they aren’t offering informative content on these hubs. This also helps to promote Google’s own Product Listing Ads:
Google is pushing eBay to use PLAs in order to combat the drop in product pages from organic rankings if they want to continue to stay in front users searching for specific products. Good for Google’s business, yes—but also the best user experience.
How you Can Combat Panda
If you have already taken a hit with the latest update, or you’re in danger of being affected in the future, there are steps you can take to combat the organic ranking drops.
- Scan your site for duplicate or thin content.
- Build out category and product pages.
- Blog weekly.
Unfortunately, when it comes to Google Algorithm updates, many businesses won’t know about them or what these updates entail until they’re rankings begin to slide. If you’re concerned about where you site stands or want to learn more about combating Google’s recent update and maintaining (and improving) your rankings, click here to schedule a complimentary, 20-minute SEO evaluation with a Stream SEO strategist via Business 2 Community.
.
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