Google Panda 4.1 – Implications & Learnings

It’s now official, the new update to Panda is here. This follows Pierre Far’s post on Google+.

This has been named Google Panda 4.1 as it comes close to about 4 months from when Google announced Panda 4.0. We at Position² had shared our thoughts on Google Panda’s implications for SEO & we are now back to shed light on the implications & learnings from 4.1

Implications of Panda 4.1

As SearchMetrics’ SEO Visibility tool points out, this is a slow roll-out and will continue over the next few weeks. Google Panda 4.1 is expected to affect about 3-5% of search queries depending on geography.

Taking a sneak preview at sites listed below, one thing is for sure – Panda 4.1 is in line with the previous updates and is intended at sites which have poor or plagiarized content. Typically, websites which do not produce their own content & re-publish content tops the list of losers.

Source:Forbes.com

This is a classic case of how adherence to Google’s Guidelines is recognized & rewarded w.r.t. quality, original content. Other sites like simplyrecipes.com & Glamour.com have reaped benefits from this algorithm update.Whereas,sites with original quality content stand out to gain from these updates. Noteworthy to mention is Babble.com, which was one of the top losers with Panda 4.0, is now on the winner’s list.

The overall conclusion here is that News, Content Sites & Portals which offer downloads emerge as clear-cut winners – thanks to original content again. On the other hand, websites which have lyrics, games & aggregator sites need to pay the penalty owing to re-published content which Google terms as “thin-content” sites.

Learnings from Panda 4.1

• Have a unique content strategy for your site. Make it as friendly to users.
• Always have original, quality content on your site; forget content duplication.
• Content updates should be periodic and should cater to latest happenings in the industry. Efforts should be to evolve as an industry “thought-leader”.
• Be very careful when re-publishing content, always cite sources whenever required to share content.
• Avoid guest-blogging, Google considers this as a spam technique.
• Stick to social channels for content-syndication. Create content useful for your visitors e.g.: infographics, Quick facts, etc. Make your social platforms more engaging and audience friendly.

Are you seeing any differences in your website performance over the past few weeks or if you are a target of content duplicity, check out for the same on your Webmaster Tool dashboard. Do let us know your comments in the section below.

Make way for Panda 4.1 – Enjoy spam-free, superior content online!