I’ve received a number of reader inquiries about latest change to Google has made to its search ranking algorithm. Dubbed the “Panda Update” by online geeks, these revisions represent a major shift by Google in terms of how it ranks Web sites on its search results pages.
Why did Google make these changes? Because over the last three years, a number of Web sites produced lots of cheap and low-quality content on every subject imaginable and became known as “content farms.” Their business model is to simply attract lots of visitors and sell online ads that market to that traffic.
Panda bears hate farms (farms cut down trees)…just as Google hates content farms: hence, the name the “Panda Update.”
How does the Panda Update affect the Web sites of home improvement companies? Most Web sites I’ve reviewed have experienced small changes in their rankings and their visitor traffic; some have improved, others have declined.
But the real losers, as Google intended, are the content farms like Mahalo, Associated Content and Suite 101. In fact, these content farms serve up thousands of articles on home improvement topics to generate page views for the benefit of their clients.
To give you an example, here is an article on Mahalo about replacement windows. It’s nothing special. In fact, it’s about as basic as an article can get:
http://www.mahalo.com/replacement-windows/
So why did Google punish these Web sites? It’s easy. These Web sites were publishing so much low-grade, low-quality content that they were distorting Google’s search results. Let’s face it, these Web sites are far more interested in getting their viewers to click on their advertising, than imparting great knowledge.
Google determined that its users were struggling to find solid, high quality content about many subjects. And, to use a gardening reference, the weeds were choking out the flowers.
Is there an upside to the Panda Update for home improvement dealers? I think so, though I don’t yet have numbers to prove that. The Panda Update affected 12% of all searches. My sense is that as these low-quality Web sites have been demoted, there’s more room at the top. As a result, the rankings of dealer Web sites will move up a couple of percentage points because there’s more room on the first few pages of the search results.
So if you’ve heard about the Panda Update, don’t sweat it unless you’ve seen significant drops in visitor traffic. The Panda Update is Google’s way of moving high quality Web sites (hopefully like yours) closer to the top of the search results.
Homeowner Connections Through Performance Online Advertising
