The website and the panda
During 2011 Google launched the ‘Panda’ update, a change to their website ranking system that aims to deliver their users better quality websites on their search results.
According to Google, ‘Panda’ (named after software engineer Navneet Panda) was designed to align website rankings with the viewing experience of the readers. It heavily penalises websites with old or poor quality content, as well as activities such as link exchanges and comment spamming; and rewards those with updated, and good quality content, using over 60 quality indicators.
When released it had an immediate impact on thousands of websites and with several high profile brands being hit but Google firmly believes this new approach is the way forward for the search. As a result, Search Engine Optimization has seen a big chance in its practices.
It is no longer enough to create a big web of links that will drive traffic to your website. Now, the time people spend browsing through your site and whether or not they share it through social media plays a more important role than the number of “dumb links” to your site.
How can you stay on top these changes and see your rankings unaffected? Focus on your customers’ experience on your web page, make it interesting for them to visit your site, give them reasons to share it with others. Then you can rest assured that your site will stay on top of search engine results and your business will be safe.
Crowdbait are a leading content production and optimisation agency specialising in helping website owners deliver great content to users.
