Panda 3.9 Rolling out 7/24/2012

[netmeg]

Tweeted by Google:

New data refresh of Panda starts rolling out tonight. ~1% of search results change enough to notice. More context: [goo.gl...]
[searchengineland.com...]

[Martin Ice Web]

In my mind "leveling" the playingfield is that u give smaller sites the same chance as big sites. Big sites are treated the same way as smaller sites, in relation to onpage factors/ links.
U canīt tell me that all smaller sites did something wrong? And the big sites ( brands etc. ) are all clean and action after googles policies? We all know that major brands are dominating the serps. And the brands apparently can do what they want without having a panda/penguin problem.

@zivush, as Cutts anounced this leveling, I though this could be great. All the "I upload the csv-files -driven sites would have a problem because they do not have extra content on their sites nor do they have unique content. They disapeared, i think that is OK, but heck, all our selfwriten pages have suffered too.

[claaarky]

What if google meant they were levelling the playing field for large companies. SEO savvy individuals have been punching above their weight for years whereas some large companies have struggled in the organic rankings through lack of SEO knowledge. Now they are able to rank on reputation, service, real world values rather SEO knowledge.

[onebuyone]

Now they are able to rank on reputation, service, real world values rather SEO knowledge.

It's just another set of indicators, "SEO individuals" will learn how to abuse and exploit them sooner or later.

[seoskunk]

It's just another set of indicators, "SEO individuals" will learn how to abuse and exploit them sooner or later.

I hope so. Sorry leveling the playing fields for the benefit of Corporate Companies just doesn't rock my boat.

[gehrlekrona]

I said several years ago in a SEO forum that within a couple of years SEO will be dead and that is was nothing more than a way to trick search engines. Of course that went over like a f**t in church but look at where we are now. I am almost 100% sure that Google is doing everything they can to fight SEO and is trying to find other ways to rank pages. What is a better way to start with Amazon for example and go from there? How would you like to SEO Amazon and all their pages and get it right every time? What if they got slammed by Google and had to try to come up with something else that didn't violate some new Panda/Penguin iteration?
On my rewritten web site(s) I have been minimalistic when it comes to use of TAGS. Descriptions I have been trying to be as precise as possible and not use more than a small amount of key words that just comes from that page. Now, my pages are generated so all that might change over time and if I have done it right, I am hoping that I won't violate some future rule.
I am hoping to build a brand with the main web site I have since it has been around "forever" and not have to rely on Google in the near future. Not easy and not cheap though :(

[claaarky]

"It's just another set of indicators, "SEO individuals" will learn how to abuse and exploit them sooner or later."

If google have established a demicratic voting ranking system, how do you abuse that? Can democracy be gamed?

[tedster]

SEO savvy individuals have been punching above their weight for years whereas some large companies have struggled in the organic rankings through lack of SEO knowledge. Now they are able to rank on reputation, service, real world values rather SEO knowledge.

I've worked with both type of sites and I KNOW that this is a true assessment - especially in highly competitive areas with lots of contenders. I've seen keywords where anyone you stop on the street would say "Widgets? Oh, Brand X is one of the tops!" But Brand X website struggled on page 2 or page 3.

[Martin Ice Web]

Claarky, that is not leveling. That is pushing brands. If u level something then all have the same chance. Your opinion of "leveling" brands get on step more on the ladder than non brands.

whereas some large companies have struggled in the organic rankings through lack of SEO knowledge

Then they had the wrong SEO Partners. IOn the real world the didnīt get a brand just because they where a big company. The hired professional add-experts, they put adds on printed media, TV ...
So why should they now, without any effort ( like you say ), rank #1? Is that the mission of a search engine? If itīs so, then I do not have to use a search engine any more.

[superclown2]

If google have established a demicratic voting ranking system, how do you abuse that? Can democracy be gamed?

Naturally. Politicians have been doing that since the Greeks invented the word. There are millions of intelligent people out there working on it right now.

[superclown2]

amazon because the site ranks for nearly ever query with multiple pages and Cutts told us that he is a fan of amazon

When I go to Amazon I almost invariably spend a lot of time on the site. They publish independent reviews of many of the products they sell and like millions of others I read them before deciding which, if any, to buy. I very rarely leave the Amazon site to go to another one because they are almost always the cheapest so why bother.

By any of the metrics we have discussed as potential factors in Panda Amazon deserve to have a high position and whether or not Googlers like the site at a personal level doesn't alter that. Perhaps there are lessons we can learn from this rather than bemoan their dominance.

[tedster]

We're not talking about the 3.9 Update any more, we're just talking generalized Panda ideas. Since we're losing focus, this thread is locked.