We’ve all heard about the Butterfly Effect, but the ‘Panda Effect’? This isn’t about shoots and leaves, it’s a lot more serious than that for those who value their Google Ranking.
Now I don’t have anything against pandas, poor bamboo munching creatures get a rough deal, but I can understand why Google’s Panda is public enemy number one for the owners of some websites. You see their not so furry or friendly creature has caused fury among those whose business it is to help customers achieve a high ranking on Google.
You might have noticed that your site has been yo-yoing around a bit recently - you’re not alone , Google’s latest algorithm change has shoved a bamboo shoot in the works for those websites that had been happily relying on link farms, ezine and shoddily put-together content.
For better or for worse the way you present content on your website will never be the same again if you are guilty of some of the dodgier practices that once worked for your website.
With the help of Panda, Google is attempting to make the Internet a fairer place for those websites who deserve to be heard above the tremendous amount of noise out there.
Whether you sell sofas of sweets competition is now fierce for every position in the rankings. Think of maintaining your website ranking as a marathon more than a sprint, Google, bless ‘em are now demoting those nasty websites who try to get ahead by poaching content from other websites or endlessly repeat key words in their articles.
But it’s not all bad news, the Panda update has given those sites who manage to keep people on them for more than a few minutes have been rewarded handsomely, this include websites such as ebay and tech crunch. Content farms like ezine and eHow haven’t been so lucky due to Panda’s dislike of poor quality content.
The good news is, until rogue websites find a way to adjust to Panda’s changes, good quality content is now king! The panda is a fussy creature who eats bamboo and good quality content is like bamboo to Google’s panda, so you need to keep it happy or it will move to other tastier shoots. A full list of the Panda winners and losers can be found here
