Panda 20 - a Full Update - 2012-09-27

[SnowMan68]

Seoroundtable has reported that Matt Cutts confirmed a large Panda update occured on 9/27.

Update: Matt Cutts told me this is a fairly major update to the Panda algorithm affecting 2.4% of search queries. More on this tomorrow.Barry went into more detail at searchengineland [seroundtable.com...] [searchengineland.com...]

[edited by: Andy_Langton at 7:23 pm (utc) on Oct 5, 2012]
[edit reason] Corrected link [/edit]

[tedster]

Thanks for that. It's good to know there is some official word about this. And the new Panda algo ran the day before the EMD Update, just two days before and an Image Update. Talk about complexity! I had a suspicion (one that I mentioned here in a couple of places) that there was something else in the mix over the last weekend.

Notice that this was a full Panda Algorithm Update, and not just a Data Refresh.

[edited by: tedster at 9:33 pm (utc) on Oct 3, 2012]

[SnowMan68]

I had a suspicion, that I mentioned here in a couple of places, that there was something else in the mix.

Yes, it definitely had people confused that didn't have EMD's.

[tedster]

SE Roundtable also quotes Matt Cutts:

A lot of the most-visible differences went live Thursday 9/27, but the full rollout is baking into our index and that process will continue for another 3-4 days or so.

So, now that means even more complication for any analysis we need to make.

[ember]

So why announce an EDM ahead of time, or at least on the day it happened, but not announce the Panda or image update?

[Leosghost]

full rollout is baking into our index and that process will continue for another 3-4 days

Depends on when they spoke ..may not have been today..

[edited by: Leosghost at 9:36 pm (utc) on Oct 3, 2012]

[MrSavage]

You know I don't want to rant. I'm only here right now to get a bit of clarity. For the most part I've been avoiding getting into discussions for fear of being one-sided.

I really really really appreciate the clarification on what exactly happened. It's like being in a bunker, a bomb goes off, you run around in a daze with your ears ringing and carnage all over the place.

That said, I have no idea, and I truly mean that more than ever, what to do now. I have absolutely no idea at all. My two main sites that mattered are smashed. One is around 80% down the other is about 50% so it does still have somewhat of a pulse. Income wise, this is a complete and utter write off now.

I will look at my stats, but it does sound like a 3-in-1 dose here. Triple dose poison cocktail. My mother says Google is out to get me. Heh, no idea. I wonder is there a point trying to problem solve this? As in what's the point? The bombs keep falling from the sky. I know the intent of Panda. If I suck (and I have before) then I get drops after updates. This is utter devastation though to the point that I'm close to throwing in the towel completely. I've said that a few times in the past, but this truly is the most devastated across the board I could ever imagine.

There are a LOT of smart people here. Is this another situation to walk away and do something else? I mean different websites etc. Are people going to keep chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow being organic traffic? I'm sure the people with a staff and business operation can persist in this time, but how about for the average webmaster? Can't we have a discussion about what now?

[zeus]

hmm Then I was right that Panda had happen once again, but they sure did not make a good job, once again.

[Frost_Angel]

So is it safe to say that whatever devastation this Panda update caused is now over? Or is it still "baking" - because at this point.... I am with MrSavage.

Seems like there is absolutely no point in trying to recover or even have a website.

[zeus]

I think its over and I must say like a lot of other dudes and girls, it seems like the time working together with google is over.
I would suggest webmasters to only focus on Bing and other search engines, be cause google just takes to much of your creative time and you dont get anywhere. So forget google guidelines and updates, start to build your site for the users/visitors and be happy for any free visits from Bing, I would also suggest you block google be cause of bandwidth and scraping images/texts from your site.
I would say a new area starts in web business, focus on your users, Bing and social media.

[edited by: zeus at 10:03 pm (utc) on Oct 3, 2012]

[textex]

Just gets worse and worse. No question this is deliberate garbage being served up.

[Whitey]

I thought as much re Panda intertwine , but as usual it's speculation until the confirmation.

One site i saw rebound had installed components in it's design that precisely matched this update, and it was an EMD. It seems that some of the Adsense intent is making it's way across to SERP intent for Google ie images above the fold / does your site look nice [ in Google eyes ].

[ZydoSEO]

I would have to agree that 2.4% of search queries is "jarring and jolting".

[rustybrick]

ZydoSEO, The "jarring and jolting" was in response to the next Penguin update, not Panda update.

[Leosghost]

While you are here Barry..what was the date that you spoke with Matt, when he said ?..

full rollout is baking into our index and that process will continue for another 3-4 days

[gehrlekrona]

MrSavage, I am totally with you. I don't see anything that I can do to change to be in GOOG's "favor" again. As far as I know and understand my site is "clean" and should be doing fine as it did for 12 years. It's no EMD and hav been in the top 10 for years and years. Now I don't even know where it's at and the last nail in the coffin was the "update" last week. Like everybody else here we couldn't understand what was going on, because this site is not EMD.
I am also ready to give up on GOOG as they have given up on us. Bings web master tools is so much better than WMT. I think WMT only gives yuo enough info that GOOG want to share and there is nothing that will help you evolve and fix anything. The things they suggest I have done to no avail, on the contrary. The only good thing here is that it probably can't go lower.
We should have a thread where you can bitch-slap them without being banned here... just for our own satisfaction and sanity!

[Vuffy]

I wonder if the algo was completely changed or just signals getting added/removed.

[bobsc]

...The "jarring and jolting" was in response to the next Penguin update, not Panda update.

And, we're still waiting and waiting.

[thedonald123]

Two sites hit, I don't think they weren't hit because of EMD, Panda makes more sense. They have keywords in the domain name but the domain in its entirety are not phrases I'm looking to rank for. Does that make sense?
How to tell if it's Panda or EMD?

Both sites are -950 penalties. One only lost 30% but for the keywords it lost the site shows in the SERPS way back on page 95.

The other, a niche site has been around for five years, lost 80% google traffic. I can't imagine why it was hit. I'm clueless as to how to protect my one large site which brings in 95% of the money. Google considers it a Authority site now but how can I rely on that for the future? No house purchase until I can put down 100%, I'm not taking on a mortgage based on Google sending me the same organic traffic for the next 2-3 years.

Is there a more volatile industry in 2012 then being a web publisher? At this point it's riskier then pretty much anything.

If there was a way to know why a site was hit it would make this so much easier.

[edited by: tedster at 5:12 am (utc) on Oct 4, 2012]

[ZydoSEO]

The update was "jarring and jolting"... They may tell us tomorrow that it ALSO included a rollout of Penguin. After all, they waited days to confirm Panda was rolled out simultaneously.

Imagine, if 1 out of every 40 queries being affected is not "jarring and jolting"... the world will end with their next Penguin! LOL

I'm beginning to think that Matt is one of the four horsemen! ha

[GodLikeLotus]

Google considers it a Authority site

Can anyone qualify exactly what makes them think their site is regarded as "An Authority Site"? I have read the phrase more times than I can remember.

[MrSavage]

Looking beyond what myself and others have experienced with this round of poison cocktails, what's the plan now?

I'm just curious who's up for rolling up their sleeves and getting dirty and fixing up what they have so that they can beat this dang thing? I say part in jest, part serious.

Because of this poison cocktail, certainly I'm dead fast against touching these affected sites again. That said, if there is optimism about pulling out of another crisis I'm all ears. If you could pull out of this update, create a website and or write a book about it!

In essence this update has helped me in a weird way. I'm going to change strategies to insulate myself from this ever happening again. If an algo update can do this to my enterprise, then yikes, what the heck am I doing with my time. I think the moral of this Panda update is to realize that what you have which wasn't affected this time, could very well be up next time. In which case, it's time to decide where your time is best spent. Chase a pot of gold, or latch onto a different means of getting people to your wonderful content.

Again, I'll avoid posting other than if I'm waking up to amazing turn arounds. Heck it's happened before, but those were the result of fixing penalties, not Panda algo updates.

There are two different audiences. One has a staff and big website(s) and the other is like myself who is a website enthusiast who thought of making some side income on doing what I love. I'm not so sure the income part of it is part of the equation. For me folks, that's Panda 20. It's historical in my life and I'll leave it at that.

In closing, let's talk strategies and next generation SEO so we can battle back and fight another day...

[thedonald123]

When you see an authority site you know it. They own the SERPS. Page 3 in Google will contain 3-10 listings from the domain. They will rank for anything which they have a targeted page for. In general they will rank between 1-3 for any phrase they target heavily. Backlinks are not an issue. Spammy backlinks cannot hurt them. They can violate anything. Penguin, Panda, EMD, too many ads, none of that will hurt them. Google updates which destroy others only bring them more traffic. Even the competitive terms, no work is needed as the weeks pass the site slowly and steadily climbs the SERPS.
That's is how you know an Authority Site.

[Frost_Angel]

@MrSavage
I'm with you!
Reminds me of Jerry Maguire "who's coming with me" speech! Lawlz

[thedonald123]

I asked earlier how to tell if you've been hit by the EMD update or Panda 20. It just occurred to me that Matt Cutts on Titter mentioned the EMD update was US only. I know I've been hit on international traffic as well.

Can anyone confirm that they've been hit by EMD and it was only US traffic?

Thanks

[nomis5]

Two of my EMDs were obliterated and they were UK traffic.

[tedster]

Where is this statement about the Panda Udpate being only for US traffic? Here's what I read:

This is a fairly major Panda update that impacts 2.4% of English search queries and is still rolling out.

So it's about the language of the search query, not the country of origin.

[Simsi]

Can anyone qualify exactly what makes them think their site is regarded as "An Authority Site"

One strong indicator IMO is when a significant number of visitors arrive from searches that include the brand name or domain name. But I'm not convinced that's how Google views it.

As a "user" it's pretty easy to spot an authority site by the content. For (an ecom) example, if I'm buying a new widget I can usually find a stack of sites that describe it as per the brochure, tell me whare I can buy it and where it's cheapest etc. But the one where the site tells me if I buy widget A it will fall apart in 3 months, that widget B is known for blowing up in my face and widget C is actually the best option despite looking like it went out with the 70s, now that's the authority site.

Problem is, the only way G can know that is by understanding the item being talked about or by measuring user behaviour and that's a bit of a moot issue. Hence my comment on brand name searches.

[IanTurner]

This is a fairly major Panda update that impacts 2.4% of English search queries and is still rolling out.

Note how the quote doesn't specify that other languages weren't included in the update.

[Whitey]

2.4% of English search queries

What does that translate through to in terms of sites affected? .... best est. +/- %