The SEO world continues to be abuzz with talk of Google’s Panda. Few algorithm updates have inspired such equally vocal praise, speculation, and disdain. While the update has been primarily labeled a “content update,” the updates (which continue to launch) actually cover a wide variety of areas. Most web developers with niche websites and blogs will need to make some adjustments to continue ranking well in search engines, while many might just need to keep doing the good work they’re doing.
There are some basic points you need to keep in mind with Panda: content must be written from an expert point of view, must be organized in an intelligent way, and most be valuable to the average Internet reader. But rather than summarizing the same points you’ve probably heard for the past few months, let’s take a look at some very specific adjustments you might need to make to retain your website traffic.
Link Building Changes Post-Panda
In a list of 10 recent algorithm changes published by Matt Cutts earlier this month, one update stood out in particular, because I see it so often in SEO — DE-duplicating boilerplate anchors. Boilerplate links are usually site-wide navigation links (like the sidebar on any given website) or markups like your header and footer. Some websites, especially those that some might consider unsavory like gambling and porn, use such links as their primary link building methodology. The idea is to buy links on a website’s sidebar using the same anchor text, typically something for which you’d like to rank.
Using a quick example, let’s say you operate a Clear Wireless affiliate site in Texas and would love to rank for the term “CLEAR internet Houston,” which would appear in hundreds of low-quality website sidebars linked just like I did here, only without any content surrounding it. This is also a common practice with link building services that sell “1,000 links for $49.99.”
In the past, this method would actually hold some promise, with the mentality being to throw 1,000s of links at a keyword for a low investment. Unfortunately, the recent Panda “patch” makes this method a little counterproductive. It may still work for a while, but you can expect any positive results from using duplicate anchor text to slowly start diminishing into next year.
Website Content Changes Post-Panda
If you haven’t been buying sidebar links as your primary link building strategy, you are wise beyond your years and have little to worry about on that front. But most web developers aren’t as concerned with their link building strategies in a post-panda world as they are with their content, and rightly so. Google Panda has simply shredded some formerly powerful content farms and niche websites alike. Some of the biggest losers after Panda, according to a study performed by Sistrix right after Panda went live, were:
ezinearticles.com – 90% ranking drop
suite101.com – 94% drop
associatedcontent.com – 93% drop
essortment.com – 91% drop
articlesbase.com – 94% drop
answerbag.com – 91% drop
Initially, many jumped to the famous Demand Media fences, defending the giant as providing quality content that competitors like Ezine and WiseGeek.com couldn’t match. But the owner of sites like eHow.com (which you can barely find in search results anymore) and LiveStrong did ultimately take a giant hit. Not only are countless writers that formed DM’s former writer army complaining that there is no work available, the companies initial stock offering of $17.00 ended the day on November 30th at $7.11. And let’s be fair. Based on the common triggers for a Panda penalty, eHow kind of had it coming.
Changes You May Need to Make to Your Content
First things first, if you use a template for all of your website content, you might need to reevaluate how your content appears to Google. What all of the sites that were heavily penalized by Panda had in common is that they relied heavily on template content. Ask yourself several key questions:
How much of the content on a given page is generated automatically?
How much unique content do I have on every page?
Are my ads getting out of control?
As pointed out by Cyrus Shepard at SEOMoz, some pages can be pretty well torn apart using Panda’s guidelines with a brief look. Check out this page on essortment.com, who lost a huge amount of their traffic to Panda. After you finish closing the pop-ups and clicking the little “x” to close the drop down ads (good riddance if you ask me), you’ll notice something pretty startling — there’s no unique content above the fold. Remember us talking about boilerplate links? Well, they’re all over the place on this page. It’s obviously been prepared with a fairly basic template, and injected to the bursting point with ads (ironically mostly from Google) and filler links. If you scroll all the way to the bottom of the page, you’ll find a fairly telling stamp of quality.
Another important point made by Shepard is how your overall content strategy functions. Do you have redundant content on your website? Chances are pretty good that you do from past SEO campaigns. The temptation is to generate as many titles as possible targeting a given keyword phrase, then write a bunch of articles on the same general topic to try to rank for the keyword. Especially if the content is low-quality, this practice can signal a penalty from Google.
It’s tempting to gnash your teeth at Panda and utter unspeakable words towards Google’s search quality team, especially if your sites have been heavily penalized by the update. But let’s be honest here — the Panda update is the first in what’s likely going to be a long line of algorithm updates with “human readers in mind.” Who among us hasn’t been frustrated by spam during a routine Google search in the past? Panda is a well-meaning update. The key to surviving it is to create valuable, long-term content that is designed for humans, not robots. Stop trying to make templates work and stop trying to throw 100 articles at a one article problem. Create authoritative content written from an expert point of view, and no Panda will ever touch your website.
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