Uploaded byHelen Overland
SMX - How to Know If You've Been Hit by Google's Panda Penalty
The document discusses Google Panda, an algorithmic update aimed at removing low-quality content from search results, potentially leading to a significant drop in organic traffic for affected sites. It outlines signs of being impacted by Panda, methods for diagnosis using Google Analytics, and offers strategies for recovery, such as improving content quality and usability. Key takeaways emphasize the importance of identifying and fixing thin or duplicate content to withstand Panda penalties.
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SMX - How to Know If You've Been Hit by Google's Panda Penalty
- 1. Helen M. Overland Diagnosing & Repairing Panda VP Conversion Optimization, On-Page SEO & Analytics
- 2. Who is SearchEngine People? • 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 PROFIT100 ranking • Over 1000 clients worldwide • Amongst top 13k most visited sites worldwide
- 3. Types of GooglePenalties Panda Google penalties come in many flavours! Manual Links “Unnatural Links” Content “Low Quality Pages” Algorithmic Links Penguin Content Panda “Ads Above the Fold”
- 4. Types of GooglePenalties Panda Google penalties come in many flavours! Manual Links “Unnatural Links” Content “Low Quality Pages” Algorithmic Links Penguin Content Panda “Ads Above the Fold”
- 5. What is Panda?Panda An algorithmic update that appears to have the objective of eliminating poor quality content from Google’s index. Panda looks for: • Light content (too little info on page) • Content too similar to existing content (affiliates) • Spelling/grammatical errors (sign of cheap content) • Low user engagement • Article Syndication • Scraper Sites
- 6. How Bad CanIt Be? Panda Panda typically drops your unbranded organic traffic from Google by 40-60% in a single day
- 7. How Bad CanIt Be? Panda If sites don’t fix the issues, they can be hit consecutively
- 8. Signs You’ve Been Affected by Panda Panda 1. Unbranded Organic traffic from Google drops 40-60% in a single day 2. You’re still ranking for your headline keywords 3. You lost your long tail traffic 4. You are struggling to maintain your traffic, and don’t know why 5. You are actively promoting the site, but traffic seems “flat”
- 9. How to FindIt.
- 10. First, Check GoogleAnalytics Panda • Google will always want to rank you for your brand name!! • Find out if your unbranded, organic traffic from Google has dropped • Use Google Analytics 1. 2. 3.
- 11. First, Check GoogleAnalytics Panda • Exclude your brand name from the results – because you’re likely still ranking, and include only organic Google traffic: 4. 5.
- 12. First, Check GoogleAnalytics Panda • Exclude your brand name from the results – because you’re likely still ranking, and include only organic Google traffic • Identify if there were any days where traffic clearly and sharply dropped
- 13. Second, Check PandaDates Panda • Here, traffic was reasonably normal until March 23rd, 2012 • Now, find out if Panda was run around this date Visit the “Google Algorithm Change History” page on SEOMoz: seomoz.org/google-algorithm-change
- 14. Second, Check PandaDates Panda • Here, traffic was reasonably normal until March 23rd, 2012 • Now, find out if Panda was run around this date seomoz.org/google-algorithm-change There WAS a Panda update run during this time
- 15. A Few NotesPanda • This isn’t perfect!! Is vulnerable to “false positives” (you think it’s Panda but it’s not) • A few false positives we’ve seen over the year(s!): o Google Analytics code dropped from the site on a “Panda day” o 2nd GA code removed from the site on a Panda day o Content removed from the site on a Panda day o Site hit by Penguin during initial Penguin roll-out in April, 2012 - Panda run a few days before and a few days after = diagnosis more difficult
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- 17. Case Study: Recoveringfrom Panda Panda You CAN recover from Panda!!
- 18. Case Study: Recoveringfrom Panda Panda You CAN recover from Panda!!
- 19. How to FixPanda Panda BE QUALITY • Improve the usability of your site – decrease your bounce rate, make people “stick” and recommend your site to others • Spell check and grammar check your content – rewrite if needed • Create quality content people want to share with their friends • Consolidate your pages – don’t have your content spread over multiple domains or URLs
- 20. How to FixPanda Panda BE ADMIRED, NEVER DUPLICATED • Identify pages on your site where you have “empty” pages, or pages with little content on them – these are “thin” pages • Identify pages on your site that have text on them copied from elsewhere, even if you have permission to copy the content (product descriptions, etc) • Re-write or remove the thin or duplicate content, or have the duplicate content on other sites removed • Write new, good-quality content and add it to the site • Wait for the next Panda update – if it recovers good, if not, rinse and repeat
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- 22. Thank You! Questions? Helen M. Overland VP Conversion Optimization, On-Page SEO & Analytics