WHAT ARE GOOGLE PANDA AND PENGUIN?
Sep 07, 2012
Panda and Penguin are algorithm updates released by Google, which aim to decrease rankings of websites with low-quality content or which use black hat SEO techniques.
In February 2011, Google issued an update on their blog about the rankings of high-quality sites in search. To give these sites a better chance of being seen, they aim to reduce rankings for sites which are not useful to users. For example, a website with plagiarised content or that is unclear to users will rank lower than others. Sites with a large amount of advertising dropped in rankings, whereas news based and social networking sites started to rank higher. Panda is different to previous algorithms because is targets a whole website, rather than individual pages.
Penguin is a more recent algorithm update, released on 24 April. It targets sites which are in violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines, most importantly, the quality guidelines. Methods like keyword stuffing, hidden text or links, or cloaking will be identified in websites, sending them down the ranking. What makes Penguin different from Panda is that is that it specifically checks for webspam, rather than the quality of a website’s content.
Now that these algorithms are in place, is this the end of SEO? The answer is most certainly no, but it does mean a few changes in the emphasis placed on SEO methods. Keywords are still relevant, but their importance lies in the way they are used. Placing them within high-quality content is still going to rank you higher in searches. Links are also still important; they just cannot be artificially generated or paid for.
More emphasis will now be placed on user interaction and engagement, so it is important to focus on aspects like customer comments on your site, linking with social networking and adding interactive content such as videos. The longer users stay on your website, the higher you are going to be in Google’s rankings.
At The Creation Lab we keep up to date with these changes, and can help you boost user engagement with services such as website make-overs, blogs, videos, website presenters and virtual tours. Just give us a call and we’d be happy to answer any questions!
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