Updated January 13, 2023
Reading Time: 2 minutesRecent Release Recap
We’re wondering about the Panda 4.0 impact on small- and medium-sized business. To refresh your memory, Google released another algorithm change on May 20th (or so). It specifically targeted websites with thin and duplicate content — an SEO practice that annoys human searchers.
Why Negative SEO is so Evil
Did You Feel Panda’s Wrath?
eBay, YellowPages.com and others definitely felt a Panda 4.0 impact. Their organic ranking suffered dramatically, according to a Search Engine Land’s Winners & Losers post.
In some of our Webmaster and SEO forums we’re hearing all sorts of stories. Some websites received an organic boost in the last part of May, driving more traffic to websites that had been previously hit by Panda updates. Others are lamenting that lost rankings.
Participate in Panda 4.0 Impact Poll
If you’re following the Panda 4.0 impact closely now’s your chance to weigh in. SEO Roundtable has a very brief poll. Here are some interesting stats:
- 15.5% indicated that they recovered from a previous Panda penalty
- 18.6% experienced an increase (yet they weren’t hurt previously)
- 27% had rankings decrease
Recovery Options
Google has made noises about a softer Panda, part of an effort to help small businesses with websites who can’t compete against big brands with big pocketbooks. If Panda 4.0 smacked your website, here’s some advice on recovery:
- Scrutinize thin content. Revise it so it provides actual reading value to your website visitors.
- Add canonicals to duplicate content.
- Commit to creating fresh, unique content on a regular basis. If you can’t publish 5 times a week, that’s ok. Set an attainable publishing schedule and stick to it. The more consistent you are, search engine crawlers will “learn” to come at more regular intervals to index the new content.
What was the Panda 4.0 impact on your site?