14 DAY TRIAL // Google is starting to roll out version 4.0 of the Google Panda algorithm, as Matt Cutts, chief of search, has announced on Twitter.
The Panda algorithm is designed to prevent sites that host content of poor quality from ending up on the top of the search results pages, as Google seeks to provide users with the best options.
A while back, Google stopped letting the world know about whatever Panda updates it was making as they came in monthly and the company didn’t see the point in shouting them out loud, unless it was something major.
This time around, it’s version 4.0, however, which means that it’s a bigger update than previous ones, which were mostly data refreshes. Basically, Google has changed the way Panda identifies sites that should be at the top and those that should be at the bottom, which lays down the rules for whatever else changes the company has planned for the future.
Google is rolling out our Panda 4.0 update starting today.
— Matt Cutts (@mattcutts) May 20, 2014
Search Engine Land reports that Panda 4.0 will affect different languages to different degrees, as such updates always have. For instance, about 7.5 percent of queries made in English are affected to a degree.
While there aren’t that many details about what the Panda update entails, in a previous statement, Matt Cutts explained that it could help small businesses rank higher in search results. Basically, Google was planning at the time to soften Panda in a manner that would give smaller companies a chance to make themselves seen.
Many small business owners have complained over time about the Panda algorithm, saying that their sites have more or less vanished from search results. Some went as far as comparing the changes to getting their businesses burnt down, or nuked.
Google has advised sites to provide high quality original content and to keep design and navigation options clean and well structured. Cramming up keywords for the sake of rankings won’t take anyone very high up in the results pages anymore, while other SEO tricks are also punished by the Internet giant.
Google Panda affects the ranking of an entire site or a section of it, rather than individual pages. Since it was introduced, Google has updated Panda once a month, but starting in March 2013, the company announced that any additional updates would be silently integrated into the algorithm on a regular basis.
While the general Google user won’t notice when such updates are rolled out, content providers and webmasters quickly notice when they happen, thanks to their daily stats.