I think Panda was a conspiracy.
-
It's just a theory, but I think that Panda was not really an algorithm update but rather a conspiracy.
Google went out of their way to announce that a new algorithm was being rolled out. The word on the street was that content farms would be affected. Low quality sites would be affected. Scrapers would be affected. So, everyone with decent sites sat back and said, "Ah...this will be good...my rankings will increase."
And then, the word started coming in that some really good sites took a massive hit. We've got a lot of theories on what could be causing the hit, but there doesn't seem to be an obvious fix.
Many of the key factors that have been suggested causes of a site to look bad in Panda's eyes are present on one of my sites, but this site actually increased in rankings after Panda.
So, this is my theory: I think that Google made some random changes that made no sense. They made changes that would cause some scraper sites to go down but they also knew that many decent sites would decline as well.
Why would they do this? The result is fantastic in Google's eyes. They have the whole world of web design doing all they can to create the BEST quality site possible. People are removing duplicate content, reducing ad clutter and generally creating the best site possible. And this, is the goal of Larry Page and Sergey Brin...to make it so that Google gives the user the BEST possible sites to match their query.
I think that a month or so from now there will be a sudden shift in the algo again and many of those decent sites will have their good rankings back again. The site owners will think it's because they put hard work into creating good quality, so they will be happy. And Google will be happy because the web is a better place.
What do you think?
-
hahahaha. I agree with you. First Google manipulates results to see if Bing is copying. Soon after this update comes with all the care that is creating its own content sites optimized for the robots and we can not think of duplicate content. hehehehe
-
Actually I really liked the "content registry" idea.
An library of content where you could register what you have created and, optional, a link to where you want to be considered the main source.
At least it would be 10x more usefull than the google knol idea..
-
I would pay a fee to protect my best content in the Google SERPs.
-
Actually you have a point there... if JC Penny was indeed the catalyst (which I could easily imagine it being) then the time between that and the update would surely mean it would have to have been rushed. I never considered that before.
-
ha ha... I think they did rush this out.... they were quickly trying to pull up their pants after getting embarassed from the JCPenny problem... they needed to bust a few heads quickly...
-
Ha ha, maybe
I think it's something infinitely less planned out and they simply rushed this change out the door without understanding fully what it would do to the SERPs.
Although I do think you're right that in a few months (in what will be claimed to be a second Panda sweep) that things will go back and only the very worst offenders will stay penalised.
-
Yes I like the content registry idea! It would probably be necessary to pay for it as a service though, and to cover dupes that are okay maybe they could just allow dupes as long as they reference back to the source in the registry (for news, quotations, etc... where dupes can't be avoided).
-
Interesting ideas. Thanks for sharing them.
I think that Google is talking a lot about this as a "quality website update"... and that is getting them attention in the media but it is also kicking a lot of webmasters in the butt to clean up their websites.
I think that google should make a "content registry" where I can submit my content and say "this is mine" and then copies or spins of that content will not get traction in the SERPs.
And, I think that they should take a closer look at websites in the Adsense program because the ability to monetize crap and theft is driving lot of bad odor in the SERPs.
-
Haha I like it!!
Well, if it's not what happened, they'll wish they thought of it anyway lol
My view on why other sites got hit is just that they had at least some links coming from sites that got hit... i.e. got 100 backlinks, 10 are from articles on article sites, article sites get hit... lose 10 backlinks (or at least lose some of the value from some of those backlinks)... hence, good site takes a hit too
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Google Panda July 2016
Hi Does anyone know what impact the recent slow Panda roll out may have? Obviously content, but would it perhaps include engagement/user behaviour factors regarding your on page content too? Thanks
Algorithm Updates | | BeckyKey0 -
Site has disappeared since Panda 4 despite quality content, help!
Our site www.physicalwellbeing.co.uk has lost over 20 first page rankings since the end of May. I assume this is because of Panda 4.0. All content on the site is high quality and 100% unique, so we did not expect to get penalised. Although I read somewhere that if Google can't read particular js anymore they don't rank you as high. The site has not been blacklisted as all pages are showing in Google's index and there are no messages on webmaster tools. We have not taken part in any link schemes and have disavowed all low quality links that were pointing there just in case (after the penalty). Can anybody see anything on www.physicalwellbeing.co.uk that may have cause Panda update to affect it so negatively? Would really appreciate any help.
Algorithm Updates | | search_shop0 -
Do panda/penguin algorithm updates hit websites or just webpages ?
If I have a website that been affected by the panda/penguin update, do bad links affect the entire site or just the page the bad link(s) are linked to? If it is the latter and penguin/panda actually affect webpages, not websites (as is the common reference/conception), then wouldn't simply creating a new URL, targeting this new URL, shifting meta-tags and restarting link-building efforts again (this time using the right quality strategies) be a really common-sense approach instead of the tediousness of the disavow approach that so many go down?
Algorithm Updates | | Gavo0 -
I think my inbound link anchor text looks un-natural to google - How to fix?
Hi all, For a bit of back ground see this question i posted recently: http://www.seomoz.org/q/lost-over-65-of-organic-visits-since-sept-please-help From the responses there and looking into my backlinks and my competitors i can see an issue with the anchor text on my inbound links... nearly all keywords and very very few brand names etc... From what i can gather (using open site explorer) the page in question has: 1100 inbound links from 900 domains These use 90 different anchor texts 106 of these links use my brand / website name in the anchor text These 106 links are spread over 18 domains (73 from 1 directory) About 5-10% of the links are from directories, the rest are from what i would describe as "proper websites" From my very limited knowledge of this, the issue is my brand / website should have a far higher ratio of links using it as the anchor text then any keyword... which as you can see from the above is not the case... If it wasnt for that 1 directory there would only be 33 links with my brand from over 1000... I need to start fixing this, but was wondering how to start... Below are a list of options i could try, i have no idea if these would help or hinder, any advice you could give on the potential affects of below options would be very helpful: Options (the below are hypothetical, i have no idea if i will be able to get it done - Just thinking out loud here): Get as many as possible of the "directory" links removed Remove keywords from 50-60% of links and replace with branding Or Try to add branding to 50-60% of the anchor texts something like [Brand] + [keyword] Forget about whats been done previously / changing it will not help in anyway / and focus on branding in anchor text for any future link building? Thanks James
Algorithm Updates | | isntworkdull0 -
80-90% drop in visits after Panda/EMD update - now what?
Hi everyone, Had my first wonderful experience with an algorithm update. Business was doing great - about 90-100 visitors a day down to about 12-15 from Sept 29th to current. Our domain is www.hamiltonscarservice.com which I don't think exactly qualifies for an exact match but may be close enough (car service is one of our keywords). I am more likely to think its related to the Panda 20 update. I haven't changed the site at all lately so I was wondering what tips you guys may have going forward. The site isn't perfectly optimized (which is where you guys come in) but when I first set it up it worked great so I mainly focused on backlinks from that point on. Now evidently this has caught up with me. Any suggestions are appreciated - thanks! 09cSe.png
Algorithm Updates | | kabledesigns0 -
How do you determine if Google thinks you’re guilty of Key Word Stuffing?
I believe that Google sees our website: www.getyourphotosoncanvas.com/
Algorithm Updates | | rdominey
as being guilty of keyword stuffing. I don’t see any specific tools on SEOmoz
that will evaluate Keyword Density as viewed by Google. Just to be clear; I have not attempted to use KWS as a SEO tactic. I feel that the
content of each page is written for the customer. I do realize that Google may
see it differently. I think that I am being penalized for the use of the words
Photo and Canvas. My domain name is “GetYourPhotosonCanvas.com” The business
name is “Get Your Photos on Canvas”, the website title is “Get Your Photos on Canvas”, and each page of our website talks about Photos and Canvas. I have tried to
vary the use of Photo with Pictures, Photographs, Prints, Digital Images and so
on. It is difficult to vary the word Canvas. I guess according to Google this paragraph
would be guilt of Keyword Stuffing! I have conducted some tests on other SEO site tools and some indicate that KWS is
a problem on my website. If you search a specific page title that contains either Photo or Canvas it does
not rank in the top 200 on Google, although it is #1 or #2 on Yahoo or Bing. Drop those two Keywords and the page shows up
as #2 on Google. I think that is a good indication that we are being penalized
for KWS. Pease take a look at our website and give me your opinion/advice regarding the Key
Word Stuffing Issue. Do I need to rewrite my site content for Google?0 -
Are you seeing changes in your sites today? Panda 2.2?
I've heard rumblings of some Panda sites recovering in the last few days and wondered if the talked about Panda 2.2 has been rolled out. My own site (which actually had a significant boost after Panda) has seen a significant increase in traffic today (started about noon EST yesterday) and a nice increase in Adsense revenue as well. How are your sites doing?
Algorithm Updates | | MarieHaynes1 -
Regarding google panda: would it be wise to use automatic generated content when there is no content.
Hi guys, i am currently creating a local business directory and was deciding when we first start there will be a lot of business listings without a business decription until the owner of that business come to submit a description. so when if a business listing have no business description would it be better to have an automatic generated business description like this:
Algorithm Updates | | usaccess608
www.startlocal.com.au/retail/books/tas_hobartandsouth/Scene_Magazine_2797040.html the automated genrated description for this listing on that page is:
Scene Magazine is a business that is based in Kingston, 7050, TAS: Hobart And South. Scene Magazine is listed in 2 categories including: Magazines and Periodicals Shops and Book Stores and Shops. Within the Magazines and Periodicals Shops category there are 5 businesses within 25 km of Scene Magazine. Some of those businesses included within the radius of 25 km are Island Magazine, Artemis Publishing Consultants and Bride Tasmania Magazine. would google panda affect this or not and would it be wise to use this auto content when there is no description for a business?0