tedster - 1:59 am on Aug 29, 2011 (gmt 0)

I'm with @austtr. Many webmaster's get misled about Panda and Google altogether when we call any ranking/traffic loss a penalty. A ranking loss can mean either an algo change or a penalty. Panda related losses are a specific kind of algorithm change.

Similarly, an algorithm change may discount the way some kinds of backlinks are valued. If a site's rankings were dependent on a lot of that kind of link, then the ranking drop from that particular algorithm change might be significant, but it's not a penalty.

A penalty can be removed through a Reconsideration Request. A Panda loss cannot.

And that's why some members invented the word "pandalyzation" or talk about "demotions". For this reason, I'm editing the title of this thread so it doesn't use the word "penalties".

[edited by: tedster at 8:55 pm (utc) on Aug 29, 2011]