Panda is Google’s new artificial intelligence based search engine algorithm. It runs every 4-7 weeks assessing website quality by a new set of metrics that weigh heavily upon user experience.
Panda was first released in February 2011, and went global in April 2011. The Panda algorithm represents the single biggest change to how Google indexes websites since Google began in 1998. For Search Engine Marketers (SEM), and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) experts, Panda has turned their world on its head.
In addition to user experience metrics, Panda factors in aggregate spam indicators on websites that, when combined, can trigger site-wide penalties, automatic SERP oblivion, and sometimes even a manual review by Google staff. Google’s Panda tends to become increasingly aggressive with each iteration.
How to Protect Your Site from Google’s Panda Algorithm?
To protect your site from Google’s Panda you need to make sure your sites are high quality and that they deliver an enjoyable user experience.
With Panda on the prowl you really need to focus on bounce rate, time on site, and pages viewed metrics as much as possible. Especially if you’re working aggressively on your back-linking campaigns, because aggressive back-linking will attract considerable attention from Google’s Page Rank algorithm and you do not want to join the hordes of website owners and promoters crying:
“Ow noes, I been eated by the Panda… What now?”
and,
“Halp halp… I’ve been pandalized! What should I do?”
Search Engine Marketers (SEM), and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Specialists: A Word of Caution
You need to be keenly aware of how Panda handles site usage metrics. If a site has somehow attracted more back-links and traffic than Google’s usage metrics suggest the site is worthy of, Panda will come sniffing and may not like what he finds. In other words, Panda takes website usage metrics and intelligently verifies them against Page Rank data to ensure the Page Rank algorithm has not been “gamed”.
When Panda determines the Page Rank algorithm has been gamed it will respond with a site-wide penalty, and possibly even automatic removal from the Google index. Depending on the severity of what Panda finds, it may defer the final decision to a real person and schedule your site for a manual review. However, where Panda determines blackhat SEO methods or other intentional Page Rank gaming has occurred, it may automatically remove your site from Google’s index altogether.
