Panda bears may be languishing near extinction in the wild, but the Google Panda is alive and well. This week Google rolled out their twenty first update of the much maligned algorithm.
Like most Panda updates, this one began with a flurry of rumors on SEO forums across the web. As early as October 17, SEOs were buzzing about the latest Panda update. Rumors of this type carry plenty of weight with webmasters because Google frequently rolls out small scale tests before major updates.
According to Google, this latest update impacted only around 1.1% of all English language queries. But a, decidedly non-scientific, study of SEO forums finds more posts talking about an increase in rankings since the update than comments from sites feeling a negative impact.
Either the webmasters who are still posting the kind of low quality content Google punishes are too embarrassed to post up, or they’re just not all that concerned about SEO issues in the first place.
Over on the Google Product Forums, comments were running a little more on the cheeky side. A poster going by the name, StevieD_Web said:
OMG Google Sux My Rockin/Spammin Website Tanked OVERNIGHT.
While the original Panda update was no laughing matter, it seems pretty clear that most webmasters have long since adjusted the quality of content on their sites to avoid the wrath of Panda.
Were you impacted by the latest Panda update? Share your experiences in the comments section below.