Panda Algo: The Latest Thinking
Google has had a tendency in the past to remain tight-lipped about search algorithm updates but recently surprised many in the industry by commenting on Panda.
The Panda algorithm is about good content, but people shouldn’t be too hasty in overhauling their entire websites. What it does mean, is that content should be analysed by how it is currently performing using Google Analytics. If a page is getting traffic that has been directed from Google, then you know that the content is already considered of a quality that ranks it in SERPs.
Even if the content you are considering revamping has been live for a long time, make sure that it isn’t a page that sees a high level of traffic, as removing it could do more harm than good.
Looking at search queries and their resulting page is also a good idea, whether you manage your SEO in-house or through a Dublin SEO agency such as rycomarketing.ie or others.
Google also commented that people shouldn’t be too quick to completely remove pages, stating that rather than wiping the slate clean, they should focus on building better, more informative content that is less thin on the ground.
Duplicate Content Not a Priority
While Panda’s algorithm does rank quality content over vague or duplicate content, a website can actually still rank if there is good content on it. While it’s a good idea to work on ‘bad’ content pages, if there is at least some good quality content your page will still perform well in Google’s eyes. It was even confirmed that duplicate content is low on the priority list for Panda.
Other Important Factors
Word count is another factor long thought of as an important factor in SEO writing, but Google said that the focus should be on the quality of the content rather than the length of it; that is to say that long doesn’t necessarily mean good.
Panda also does not mean the end of user-generated content. It does mean that existing and incoming user content should be audited to ensure quality. Lower quality content can be set so it is indexed by Google.
The general takeaway is that if you’re consistently providing high quality content, then the Panda update shouldn’t be an issue for your website.
