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Browse All TopicsKung Fu Panda: Three Ways to Kick Back on the Google Algorithm Update
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The second phase of the Google Panda/Farmer algorithm update went live last week, with Google applying user site-blocking data collected from the Chrome Site Blocker extension in “high confidence” situations.
Now, I tend to think “high confidence situations” is Google’s way of sounding scientific about incorporating subjective user data into their algorithm; nonetheless, the social signal is likely here to stay. And since Google still commands 65% of the search market, businesses that rely on quality results need to figure out how to play nice with the boys from Mountain View.
I chatted with RedSource Interactive’s SEO Matt Nguyen and he shared a few tips on how to recover from a Panda mauling.
While all these changes should help, there are still no guarantees. Many legitimate content providers are discovering that scraper sites copying their material are outranking them on Google, a fairly clear indication that Google doesn’t have the mix right.
The Panda Update is riddled with holes, as evidenced by the outcry from legitimate content providers. As I noted last week, improving user experience by providing individuals with the tools they need to customize their search results is good customer service. But drawing conclusions from those individual preferences and applying them to everyone’s search results is a disaster waiting to happen.
Now, I tend to think “high confidence situations” is Google’s way of sounding scientific about incorporating subjective user data into their algorithm; nonetheless, the social signal is likely here to stay. And since Google still commands 65% of the search market, businesses that rely on quality results need to figure out how to play nice with the boys from Mountain View.
I chatted with RedSource Interactive’s SEO Matt Nguyen and he shared a few tips on how to recover from a Panda mauling.
- 1
Is Your Content High Quality?
You might think so. But would a first-time visitor feel the same way? Take a good look at your primary entry points—not just the home page, but pages that are commonly referred (or maybe used to be referred) by Google. Is it original content? Is it useful? Are articles/posts a significant length (in the 500-600 word range)? Is it well written?
The Panda update moves away from analyzing quality on a page-by-page basis and focuses more on overall site quality. If the Googlebot determines you having a large ratio of low quality content, your site can be marked low quality even though you may have areas of high quality content.
“For this reason, if you believe you've been impacted by this change you should evaluate all the content on your site and do your best to improve the overall quality of the pages on your domain,” says Google engineer Michael Wyszomierski. “Removing low quality pages or moving them to a different domain could help your rankings for the higher quality content.”
- 2
Do you have too many ads on the page?
Evaluate your landing pages and assess the advertising to content ratio. Be sure to consider text boxes or other site elements that may not actually be ads but look like it anyway. Does the advertising overpower the content? You may want to ask for an unbiased opinion—there are many online testing services, or you could post a question here on Experts Exchange for some quick user feedback.
Pay special attention to what appears “above the fold,” the portion of your site visible prior to any scrolling. Vanessa Fox over at Search Engine Land points out that when a site has “no content and only ads above the fold, as well as pages that have so many ads, it’s difficult to find the non-advertising content often provide a poor user experience.” Make sure you’re seeing the same thing as your users—check your web analytics to determine the average user screen resolution for your website.
- 3
Is your site trustworthy?
Backlinks have been the traditional signal search engines use to determine the trustworthiness of a site; the more others link to your page, the more your content is deemed trustworthy. Here’s where the subjectivity of the recent high-quality search algorithm kicks in and social media signals are used to determine quality. Encouraging users to share content should help, as should making your site look more trustworthy. “Have a good about page, privacy policy, contact page etc to ensure people feel comfortable using your site,” says Tom Critchlow of Distilled.
While all these changes should help, there are still no guarantees. Many legitimate content providers are discovering that scraper sites copying their material are outranking them on Google, a fairly clear indication that Google doesn’t have the mix right.
The Panda Update is riddled with holes, as evidenced by the outcry from legitimate content providers. As I noted last week, improving user experience by providing individuals with the tools they need to customize their search results is good customer service. But drawing conclusions from those individual preferences and applying them to everyone’s search results is a disaster waiting to happen.
About This Blog
The EE Tech News blog is produced by Jenn Prentice, Gary Weyel and Matt Stanford. Prior to joining Experts Exchange in 2009, Jenn worked as an editor at Metro Magazine (Raleigh, N.C.). Gary is a 10-year veteran of the advertising/marketing industry and has done work for numerous global brands. Matt is the Experts Exchange Marketing Coordinator by day and Penn State legal student by night.
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