Q How well is the new algorithm working, in Google's view?
A This change was designed to surface higher-quality content. We've heard from many publishers who are grateful, because their traffic has gone up after this most recent algorithmic update. I got an email from a user, and she said, "A couple months ago, I was searching for information about pediatric multiple sclerosis, and previously, low-quality sites were ranking above government sites." And she said, "I searched recently, and the government sites were ranking first." And that's the kind of feedback we like to hear from our users, and we've been hearing very positive feedback.
The 95k likes are for their main eHow fan page, not an individual page.
I noticed that later too, but it was on the page! lol I was completely and totally tired when I was looking at it.
crobb305
8:53 pm on Apr 10, 2011 (gmt 0)
I think 500 'likes' for the comedy value is very achievable!
Indeed. Any article that tells you step by step how to pick your nose properly deserves a comedic 'like'. lol
crobb305
9:00 pm on Apr 10, 2011 (gmt 0)
@crobb305
The 95k likes are for their main eHow fan page, not an individual page.
I just double checked and it is on an article page. I didn't think I was imagining it. Since I can't post the link, just look up how to spice chicken broth. Over 95,000 "likes".
Content_ed
9:01 pm on Apr 10, 2011 (gmt 0)
@Crobb
What does the GWC in "GWC Panda Forum" stand for? I'm only familiar with the Webmaster Tools thread that's maybe around 1200 posts with lots of trolling.
Content_ed
9:03 pm on Apr 10, 2011 (gmt 0)
@Crobb
It's 95,000 likes for "eHow" and 4 likes for the chicken page.
crobb305
9:05 pm on Apr 10, 2011 (gmt 0)
What does the GWC in "GWC Panda Forum" stand for?
Google Webmaster Central. I think it's safe to post a link since it's authoritative and from Google. If it's not acceptable and it gets moderated out, just search in Google for it. About 3,000 posts on that thread since March 3. [google.com...]
[edited by: crobb305 at 9:06 pm (utc) on Apr 10, 2011]
jinxed
9:05 pm on Apr 10, 2011 (gmt 0)
@crobb305
They do this by changing the URL for the like button to their FB fan page. I image they will also have standard like buttons for liking that individual "content" page.
crobb305
9:09 pm on Apr 10, 2011 (gmt 0)
@jinxed, oh I see. I have seen a site in my industry do this, but they use the address for example.com to display a fake fan count of near 60k fans.
Content_ed
9:14 pm on Apr 10, 2011 (gmt 0)
@Crobb
That's the thread I knew about. It's 1,300 posts, not 3,000:-)
crobb305
9:14 pm on Apr 10, 2011 (gmt 0)
If Panda "worked as intended" I am curious as to why it hasn't spread to other countries. We have heard reports that it may have spread to the UK, but that is the last I have heard of it. I see my old rankings when I go to Google Spain :(
crobb305
9:20 pm on Apr 10, 2011 (gmt 0)
That's the thread I knew about. It's 1,300 posts, not 3,000:-)
LOL I think my dyslexia kicked in when I saw "1 - 40 of 1365". I read "3165". I definitely need my Sunday energy drink and then I am going to look up on Ehow about how to cure dyslexia. They rank #1 on that query after all, so it must be authoritative. :)
ascensions
9:38 pm on Apr 10, 2011 (gmt 0)
Well if we're comparing "comments" as representational of Panda's failure, we should apply typical traffic patterns for commenters on the web- thus, the appropriate number of those searching for "Panda" to comment on it should be be approximately 100 times the comments. In my experience I see about 1% of my traffic as comments. Only fair to expect the same in this case.
Shatner
5:10 am on Apr 11, 2011 (gmt 0)
>>>And what shows how wrong we are about what quality is? The 95,000+ FaceBook Likes on the page I cited above...
This is why the +1 button worries me. People will NOT use +1 to promote quality content.
People will +1 useless eHow articles because they don't know any better. There is probably an article they'd like better, but they'll never see it and know about it and even if they did, it's not written at a third grade level.
This could be the end of quality content on the internet.
Reno
5:32 am on Apr 11, 2011 (gmt 0)
This could be the end of quality content on the internet.
Oh, the irony of it all:
"This change was designed to surface higher-quality content ... and we've been hearing very positive feedback."
Yet another journey down the Highway of Good Intentions.
.........................
jinxed
5:53 am on Apr 11, 2011 (gmt 0)
The 95K 'likes' are for their main FB fan page. In all honesty, with the sheer amount of traffic this website gets, and the prominent position of this Like button - I'd say that's a pretty low amount (and maybe an indication of POOR quality).
chrisv1963
6:04 am on Apr 11, 2011 (gmt 0)
I bet Bill Gates built a time machine to go back in time and drop all the Google engineers on their heads when they were babies.
No, he didn't. Google "How to travel back in time" and you will find an eHow article that explains how to do it without a time machine.
I was hoping that "How to get panda eyes" would give more details about this algo, but it was a disappointment.
viggen
7:20 am on Apr 11, 2011 (gmt 0)
i typed in at Google "how to rank first on google" and ehow is first, so i guess i feel lucky as i know now everything i need to know about panda...
onepointone
7:41 am on Apr 11, 2011 (gmt 0)
I've felt for a long time that eventually all searches (informational & ecom) would be owned by a few big sites. Walmart-ization of the web.
Eventually might be a bit closer it seems.
Also, Yahoo/Bing are only a tiny bit better on these searches, if any.
chrisv1963
8:05 am on Apr 11, 2011 (gmt 0)
i typed in at Google "how to rank first on google" and ehow is first, so i guess i feel lucky as i know now everything i need to know about panda...
I agree, this article might be the answer. It doesn't say you have to write good original content first. It goes straight to the SEO stuff.
This eHow ranking for anything is a joke and I hope the financial press will pick it up soon. I no longer know what to call eHow. Is it Spam? It is MFA? Is it a Content Farm? What are they doing that cheats the Google algo? If they are not whitelisted by Google, then there must be some grey are black hat technique they are using.
crobb305
5:33 pm on Apr 11, 2011 (gmt 0)
I just ran some of the searches that we were laughing about yesterday (how to predict the weather, among others) and E-How seems to appear lower down. Instead of #1 or #2 I see it at #5. But that doesn't mean the SERPS have improved. I still see Wikihow at #1.
supercyberbob
5:49 pm on Apr 11, 2011 (gmt 0)
Question.
Were you guys joking about some of these queries and the results discussed yesterday?
I just did "How to travel back in time" on the US serps and eHow isn't showing up on the first page for me.
asabbia
6:26 pm on Apr 11, 2011 (gmt 0)
don't worry it's still there
try with:
"how to predict the future" "how to fly an airplane" "how to Become President of the United States"
chrisv1963
6:45 pm on Apr 11, 2011 (gmt 0)
I just did "How to travel back in time" on the US serps and eHow isn't showing up on the first page for me.
I see it on the first page, 5th position, now. And I just traveled back to yesterday and there/then it is still on the first position :-)
asabbia
6:50 pm on Apr 11, 2011 (gmt 0)
Baidu will take over...
When facebook will partner with him for china.. and will extends the partnership outside china good bye google...
Baidu has some nice search functionalities that even google hasn't
Imagine when the Facebook Search Box will be powered by Baidu
serenoo
8:05 pm on Apr 11, 2011 (gmt 0)
I think google has to fix something. Just today I searched for FIBO that is the big fitness event in Europe and the first position is fibonacci.
crobb305
8:08 pm on Apr 11, 2011 (gmt 0)
Were you guys joking about some of these queries and the results discussed yesterday?
No we were serious. Ehow was ranking top 2 (mostly #1) for how to predict the weather, how to pick your nose, how to predict the future, etc. Everything that was mentioned. Today, their ranking is lower, but I still see Wikihow ranking #1 for many of those.
ascensions
9:06 pm on Apr 11, 2011 (gmt 0)
... I think I'm going to download an e-How template and put my content in it.... SEO 2011... Woo hoo!
backdraft7
9:30 pm on Apr 11, 2011 (gmt 0)
@Mad - Not only is there ONE booger pickin' article, there are THREE - DeSpam Media strikes again! If I did that, I'd be 950'd.
thedonald123
10:19 pm on Apr 12, 2011 (gmt 0)
Well according to the latest, ehow.com was one of the biggest losers in panda update #2. So maybe Google finally got that part right :) [blog.searchmetrics.com...] down at about #15 and #17 The full list of 100 losers in percentage:
domain Visbility (OPI) new Visibility (OPI) old difference loss in %
