Oct 24 Google Panda Update

Google Panda Algorithm Update

Just heard the news today that Google’s Panda Algorithm update is placing more weight on the value of URLs. I talked about the panda update after it came out here and since then a lot more information has come out about the update. In addition to this the update has extended beyond Google in North America and has been applied to the algos in Google’s foreign markets.

So what does it mean exactly that the update is placing more importance on URLs? Well it means that URls are more important in terms of a website’s searchability. We already had an idea that the update placed more importance on unique and high quality content. Well now it seems confirmed that web masters need to consider the quality of their URLs and only have those that are the best be indexed and un-index low quality URLs.

Having low quality URLs on your site can now really hurt you. There now seems to be a significant benefit to removing low value and unnecessary URLs. With the Panda update you really need to “trim the fat” on your site and only put your best quality content forward. Going about this is easier said then done, especially if you have a very large website. However, if you want to avoid getting the panda axe you need to get on top of this and use the robots tags of “noindex” and “nofollow” on any page that you don’t feel is really good. Or you can just delete the page altogether. You’ll have to make some hard choices, but it needs to be done.

If you don’t already have an account with Google, you should consider setting one up. Through a Google account if you own a site you can use Google’s webmaster tools. In the webmaster tools you can permanently remove pages from your site from Google’s vast index. This might be the best way to handle your low quality URLs, because even if you tell Google robot to not index or follow that page anymore, it will remain in Google’s cache and this can still potentially hurt you. So use Webmaster Tools and get rid of those low value URLs for good.

I talked about writing high quality articles for SEO purposes previously. When considering if a page has quality content on it or not, read the copy and consider if it’s written in clear and concise sentences that are easily readable by a human and don’t seem overloaded with keywords or keyword phrases. You should also consider pictures and video on a page when deciding if it’s low quality or not. Are the pictures really relevant to the copy? Are the videos entertaining, informative and relevant? It might be possible to turn a low quality page into a high quality page by taking a second or third look at it. Rewrite bad copy and change or remove bad pictures or video and you could make a low value page good. Best of luck to all of you out there and remember to avoid the panda!

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