Overview of Google Panda 4.0 Update and its Prime Motive Behind Launching

Google Panda 4.0 Update

Last week on 21st May 2014 Matt Cutts announced on Twitter that Google Panda 4.0 update rolled out and website owners were shocked and busy digging for useful information about this algorithm. Everyone searches for the answer to this question; how much this update will affect the website's ranking?

As per considering Matt Cutts tweet; he did not comment yet on whether this Panda 4.0 algorithm targeted anything different, but Google has pinched this algorithm to target those websites, which are stuffed with a large number of keywords and low-quality information. Indirectly, this algorithm update is putting spammers on fire. In this article Seogdk mainly focuses on the Panda 4.0 algorithm and its prime motive as well as briefly about the entire journey of Google Panda updates.

Previously Seogdk wrote a detailed article on Google updates and their perception behind launching in which you get more information about all Google algorithms and their importance in the web world. So apart from it right now we concentrate on the latest Google Panda 4.0 update. Below I summarize a few key points which make the architecture of this article as

  1. Brief about all Panda Update Releases
  2. Overview of Google Panda 4.0 Algorithm
  3. The Range of Google Panda 4.0 Algorithm
  4. The Motive of Google Panda 4.0 Algorithm

1. Brief about all Panda Update Releases

Google Panda algorithm was first introduced in Feb 2011 to penalize the pages with poor content and spam from the search engines as well as when it was updated for the first time, it was meant only for English websites from the US only. The previous Panda algorithm was released in Mar 2013 which was not confirmed by Google so there was no news about its release. Below see the list of released dates of the Panda update:

-February 23, 2011 – Panda 1.0 (11.8% of queries impacted)
-April 11, 2011- Panda 2.0 (2% of queries impacted)
-May 9, 2011- Panda 2.1
-June 21, 2011 – Panda 2.2
-July 23, 2011- Panda 2.3
-August 12, 2011 – Panda 2.4 (6-9% of queries impacted)
-September 28, 2011 – Panda 2.5
-Oct. 19, 2011 - Panda Update 3.0 (2% of queries impacted)
-November 18, 2011 – Panda 3.1 (less than 1% of queries impacted)
-January 18, 2012 – Panda 3.2
-February 27, 2012 – Panda 3.3
-March 23, 2012 – Panda 3.4 (1.6% of queries impacted)
-April 19, 2012 – Panda 3.5
-May 27, 2012 – Panda 3.6
-June 8, 2012 – Panda 3.7 (1% of queries impacted)
-June 25, 2012 – Panda 3.8 (1% of queries impacted)
-July 24, 2012 – Panda 3.9 (1% of queries impacted)
-August 20, 2012 – Panda 3.9.1 (1% of queries impacted)
-September 18, 2012 – Panda 3.9.2 (0.7% of queries impacted)-Sept 27, 2012
-Nov 5, 2012 - No news about its release
-Nov 21, 2012 (impacting 0.8% of English queries; confirmed, not announced)
-Dec 21, 2012 (impacting 1.3% of English queries; confirmed, announced)
-Jan 22, 2013 (impacting 1.2% of English queries; confirmed, announced)
-Mar 14, 2013 – No news about its release

2. Overview of Google Panda 4.0 Algorithm

This time Google create a new version of the Panda algorithm which means it should be a valuable and major update. Google Panda 4.0 update must be a bigger algorithm to the actual algorithm against just data refresh which means that Google has made changes to how the panda algorithm identifies websites.

However, this new update is listed to be softer and gentler than its forerunners. Panda 4.0 will serve the purpose of providing a base for future adjustments to the algorithm. Previous Panda algorithms fired those web pages which have low-quality content and spam content. In addition, this new Panda algorithm will firmly impact two different basic issues i.e. thin content and duplicate content of the web page.

3. The Range of Google Panda 4.0 Algorithm

This algorithm occupies a wide range as compared to previous Panda algorithms because it not only targeted poor, spam content but also fired those web pages which consist of thin and duplicate content.

Google shares info on Searchengineland that this new Panda algorithm affects 7.5% of all English queries, to a degree that might be noticed by a regular user. If we see previous Panda updates, a maximum of 11.8% of English queries were impacted.

As predicted, the algorithm mainly is concerned with the content department. Having a look at the websites that lost their rankings considerably, these were the sites that ranked with the information from external sources, software, or price-product comparison websites. Below the image of Mozcast is showing bad weather in the Google algorithm over the last five days before rolling out. The stormier and hotter the weather, the more Google’s rankings changed.

Mozcast Report
Mozcast Report

4. The Motive of the Google Panda 4.0 Algorithm

The prime motive of Google Panda 4.0 update is to target those websites which have low quality, spam, thin and duplicate content. By the reference of Searchenginewatch, the update will also target spam queries like payday loans that will make it very tough for webmasters to recover from the heavy loss. The payday loans refresh, along with the Panda may have a larger impact on low-quality sites thus proving to be a double blow for many sites.

In order to provide the seekers with the best quality websites, the Panda, as usual, will work towards providing high-quality content to the users by targeting scraper sites. This new Google Panda 4.0 update will be gentler for some websites and lay the foundation for future changes in that direction.

Conclusion

From the above information, we conclude that Google Panda 4.0 algorithm will fire those websites which are involved with poor quality content, duplicate content, spam, and thin content with poor value. More details about the Google Panda 4.0 update are still waiting, but yes it is something that we all will look forward to hearing from Google. As per Google, it will affect the websites of different languages and up to different degrees. So folks send your feedback about this article via comments and emails. Till then enjoy your life.....!!!


Gangadhar Kulkarni

Gangadhar Kulkarni is an internet marketing expert and consultant having extensive experience in digital marketing. He is also the founder of Seogdk and Director at DigiTechMantra Solutions, a one-stop shop for all that your website needs. It provides you cost-effective and efficient content writing and digital marketing services.

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