Google Panda Update #22

Google Panda #22

Have you been trying to keep up with Google’s Panda updates?

The search engine powerhouse, Google, has verified that they ran a refresh to the Panda algorithm on Wednesday, November 21st that impacts 0.8% of queries in English.

Google Panda Update #22

This Google update is #22 in a sequence of Panda algorithm updates that started in the spring of 2011.

Search Engine Land’s News Editor, Barry Schwartz, reports that Search Engine Land contacted Google on November 20th, and asked the search engine giant about a new Panda refresh.  Schwartz indicated that they were “fairly confident there was some sort of update”. He also stated that Google told Search Engine Land that “there was no update but an update would be coming within 7 to 10 days.”

According to Schwartz, the update did not come several days later, but the next day.

This algorithm update makes this the 22nd Panda refresh that Search Engine Land has been tracking. The Panda refresh #21 took place on November 5th and reportedly impacted approximately 1.1% of English queries.

Google revealed to Search Engine Land that Panda #22 would affect 0.8% of English queries and the uninformed user might notice any changes.

Google’s Ultimate Goal

Google’s ultimate goal is to provide quality. The company continues to evaluate multiple changes in an effort to reduce spam levels in their search engine results and Panda is part of the quest.  Amit Singhal, Google Fellow, and Matt Cutts, Principal Engineer of Google explained in the blog post, Finding more high-quality sites in search on February 24, 2011:

Our goal is simple: to give people the most relevant answers to their queries as quickly as possible. This requires constant tuning of our algorithms, as new content—both good and bad—comes online all the time.

Google Panda was designed to reduce spam primarily targeting:

  • Scraper sites – websites that are copies of others’ content
  • Content farms – websites that have shallow or low-quality content.

Google Panda’s History

As pointed out previously, the Google Panda refresh of November 21, 2012 is #22 in a succession of updates that have taken place since the spring of 2011.  For the full list of each update recorded, the dates and the impact or each, please see Search Engine Land’s list.

Take Away

Google’s ultimate goal is to supply high quality sites in the company’s search results. The search engine powerhouse has been releasing algorithm updates and refreshes over time to improve the results and to present a higher quality in experience for all.  To protect ensure that your website is not a casualty of Panda updates, be certain to adhere to Google’s quality guidelines, create quality content and practice ethical SEO techniques.

Have you seen any search engine traffic changes that might be connected to the Panda updates?  Do you think that some sites were hit negatively, but did not violate Google’s guidelines? Please share your story below.

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