*Update: Some of the information I originally posted was faulty. We were reporting news that others had deemed as true without checking our facts. We’ve tried to update everything as best as we can!
The summer of 2013 has been full of Google updates. The last major update Google released was the Penguin 2.0 update. On July 18th, Google released their newest Panda update. In a statement from Google, we learn, “In the last few days we’ve been pushing out a new Panda update that incorporates new signals so it can be more finely targeted.”
In other words, this update incorporates new signals that should serve to help sites that were affected by original Panda update. Google will be updating Panda on a monthly basis over a 10 day period. What has been the result of this update so far?
Here are some of the experiences some webmasters have had so far:
- Increase in impressions but same amount of CTR’s (Log into your Google Webmaster’s Tools for this information)
- The rankings of informational sites such as Wikipedia and About.com have been heavily impacted.
- Authority sites will be getting more prominence in the SERP’s
- Sites using Google + are being rewarded (Some of our readers were upset that I made this claim without presenting any data. What I should have said is that Google + is merely a ranking signal. Some webmasters have noticed the impact of Google + on their rankings, while others haven’t. Search Metrics did a great study of the ranking factors in 2013 that I recommend you read. See the study here. Of the sites they analyzed, they found a strong correlation between high rankings, backlinks, and social signals. Google + 1’s being one of those. Anyhow, it’s too early to tell just how powerful this signal actually is.)
What types of things should you take action on?
- Start using Google + if you haven’t already!
- Enable Google Authorship
- Stay within the guidelines set forth by Google and focus on quality. (No black hat stuff)
Have you noticed any difference in your rankings since this new Panda update began?
image credit: Shutterstock
