If you run an online business, own a website or market one
on behalf of someone else you will most definitely have heard of (if not have a
strong dislike of) Google’s Panda, Penguin and Pigeon algorithms.
Don’t let the cute animal and bird themes distract you as
these labels represent some of Google’s main search algorithms – i.e. the complex
set of factors that govern the way websites are ranked in the search results.
So what exactly are the 3 P’s and why might they affect your
business?
Penguin
What is it? – The
algorithm that assesses the quality of your backlink profile.
Why might it affect
you? - If you have built links in the past purely to manipulate your search
engine rankings, this algorithm could cause Google to lose faith in your site.
What can you do about
it? – Chances are that if you were going to be hit by Penguin it would have
happened already. You will have noticed
a significant drop off in traffic caused by loss of rankings. However it is worth noting that the majority of
sites that used any kind of SEO strategies, whether they intentionally built
links to manipulate search or not, saw some reduction in visibility after the
algorithm was first rolled out or following subsequent refreshes. Thoroughly cleaning up your site links and
waiting until the next rerun of the algorithm is the best way forward if you
feel your site has been affected.
Is that enough? –
Most certainly not. Cleaning up your
links will only get you back to square one – which may leave you in a state of
zero visibility if you relied on these lower quality links to gain ranking
positions. Going forward you need to
implement a solid online marketing strategy, making the most of your onsite
content, blogs, social media and developing natural links to help your site to
grow and gain in authority.
What’s the latest?
We’re currently awaiting a refresh – this should be pretty monumental as Google
have stated it is more a re-writing of the algorithm rather than a refresh and
when you bear in mind it took them almost a year to release the first version,
it gives you some idea of the scope. Dubbed
the ‘Next Generation Penguin’ this algorithm rewrite aims to make things better
for webmasters and users, so keep your eyes peeled and your ears to the ground
in the coming days.
Panda
What is it? - First released in February 2011, Google’s
Panda algorithm aims to lower the rankings of those sites with thin or poor
quality content.
Why might it affect
you? – If your website has very little content or what you do have is poor
quality (i.e. written with only your prize rankings in mind) then you may have
been affected by the Panda algorithm.
What can you do about
it? Ensure your content adds value to your website, that it is informative
and useful for the people using your site and not just plonked there to get the
attention of Google’s bots. Developing a
solid content marketing strategy now will ensure you don’t fall into the Panda
trap again.
Google itself has published guidelines on what makes a
quality site so we’ve shared the best of these tips below to show you what you
need to be doing if you manage your own online marketing or what your provider
should be offering you:
- Is the information trustworthy?
- Does the site have duplicate articles with slightly different keyword variations?
- Does the article have spelling or grammatical errors?
- Would readers be genuinely interested in the content or is it purely there for search?
- Is the article well edited?
- Is it the sort of content you’d share or recommend to friends?
By asking yourself these questions before creating and
publishing content on your site you can ensure that it is useful, informative
and engaging for your site visitors and goes beyond the retro purpose of
helping your site to rank for specific keywords.
What’s the latest? The most recent version of the Panda
algorithm dubbed 4.1 was released on 25th September 2014 and
affected around 3-5% of search queries. This comes around 4 months after the
major update 4.0 which affected 7.5% of queries and suggests perhaps a
quarterly refresh programme.
Pigeon
What is it? Launched in July 2014, Google Pigeon is a new
update aiming to provide more useful and effective local search results.
Why might it affect
you? If you used to rank for local
keywords associated with the products or services you offer in your local area
you may find your page one positions have been replaced by directories and
review sites since July. Changes are
visible within Google Maps as well as web search results.
What can you do about
it? Many local businesses have been in a state of panic since this update and
have been somewhat infuriated at being usurped by directories that we all know
consumers hate to use anyway! It seemed
that Yelp! whined about their lack of visibility and Pigeon took flight to the
detriment of many local businesses who feel they have done nothing wrong but
gain the local visibility they are rightly entitled to. The one good thing to come out of all this
was that internet marketers could seal the ranking report coffin once and for
all as even local rankings now prove to be a useless metric.
What’s the latest? There
have rumblings this week that the Google Pigeon update has been rolled
back. A study by a law firm (a sector
hit hard by the update) seems to suggest that the update is being slowly rolled
back but I have yet to see real evidence, especially as directories still dominate
particularly around searches for manual trades – builders, plumbers and so on.
There are of course other updates notably hummingbird which paved
the way for mobile search and came in the wake of the ‘Not Provided’ saga but
as it doesn’t begin with a 'P' I don’t think we need to cover it here.
Hopefully you have found this blog a useful and easy to
understand insight into the main search algorithms and can plan your online marketing
is the most beneficial way moving forward.
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