Google is launching a major attack on spammers this year starting with a major Panda update sometime in the next week. Matt Cutts confirmed the impending update at the SMX Conference in San Jose earlier this week.
Besides saying the update should roll out on Friday, or Monday at the latest, Cutts was short on details.
He did say that the Panda rollout is the first wave in a blitz of updates this year that will also include what Search Engine Journal is calling, “a significant Penguin update,” and the shuttering of one or two large link networks. (Though he did not mention them by name.)
Though most regular web users have probably noticed it themselves already, Cutts told the audience that spammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their attacks on large organizations.
He strongly urged audience members to use Google’s Fetch as Googlebot tool, which allows you to view your site as Google search bots see it. This should reveal any hidden links placed by hackers.
The fact that Cutts announced an update in advance suggests that big things are afoot in the SEO world in the months ahead.
Are you ready for a new round of Google algo updates? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.