The Panda algorithm is the name given to one of Google’s major algorithms which was initially released in 2011. It plays a significant role in helping to decide the rankings of websites on Google’s SERPs (search engine results pages).
At it’s core, the aim of the Panda algorithm is to enhance the visibility and ranking of online content that is deemed as high quality. It assesses a website’s overall quality by taking into account a variety of factors including content quality, user-friendliness, website speed, and site structure.
When Panda was first launched, it was a game-changer for online content, as it gave high-quality content even more of an advantage when competing for visibility on Google. Unfortunately, the downside of Panda was that it was more difficult for low-quality websites that did not follow the guidelines to rank, even if they previously had high rankings.
Today, the Panda algorithm remains an essential part of Google’s algorithm and it continues to be regularly monitored and improved upon. It is also used in combination with other algorithms to fine tune the rankings of websites on Google’s SERPs, e.g. how content relates to search queries, how links are used, and how duplicate content is dealt with.
So what do marketers need to know in order to make sure their content is compliant with the Panda algorithm? Here’s a comprehensive guide:
1. Content Quality
Content quality is the most important aspect of the Panda algorithm. Google considers unique, relevant, and high-quality content to be key elements that positively contribute to a website’s visibility on its SERPs. Therefore, it is essential for marketers to ensure that their content is of the highest quality before publishing.
Content should be original, well-researched, engaging, and informative. As well as this, content should also be consistently updated and regularly proofread to ensure it is reflective of the highest standards.
When producing content for online platforms, marketers should avoid producing short-form content that does not provide further value for the reader. For example, if a website is providing information about a certain topic, it should provide detailed explanations, insights, or another added value that is worth readers’ time.
2. User-Friendliness
It is essential for marketers to ensure that the website they are producing content for is user-friendly. Google assesses website user-friendliness by looking at its design, the content layout, the speed of the website, its navigability, the quality of its mobile version, and how well it is optimised for SEO.
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To ensure your website is user-friendly, it is essential to design its user interface in a way that is easy for website visitors to assess information, click on links, and explore its content. Website speed is also a crucial factor for user-friendliness. Slow loading websitess can be a big problem for users, so it is important to optimise a website’s speed as much as possible.
The mobile version of a website is also an important factor; it should work well, be responsive, and be optimised for the best possible viewing experience.
Finally, if website content is not correctly optimised for SEO, users may not be able to find the content they are looking for. Therefore, it is essential to use relevant keywords within content, and ensure links are correctly structured to improve accessibility.
3. Site Structure
Google’s Panda algorithm also considers the overall structure of a website. This means looking at how easy it is to navigate the website, and how content is organised within each page.
Having good site structure means having a page hierarchy which logically links each page together. This hierarchy should be easy for Google and users to understand, and this means having links structured such as primary navigation in the header links and navigation in the footer links etc.
In terms of navigating the website, visitors should be able to move around the website quickly and easily, so it is important to ensure there is a logical structure to each page. Additionally, having links to other pages within the website and links to external websites which provide further information about the topic also helps to add credibility to the content.
4. Best Practices
The best practices for making sure a website is Panda algorithm compliant involve many of the same best practises that are applied when optimising websites for SEO. However it is also important to remember that the Panda algorithm is looking for quality and user-friendly content, so there are a few extra guidelines to follow.
The first is to ensure that each piece of content is only published once, in order to avoid any issues with duplicate content. Secondly, it is beneficial to include internal links within the content that link back to related pages and other interesting content on the website. Internal links can help search engine crawlers to index a website and help to pass around authority throughout the website.
Finally, it is important for marketers to create content with the readers in mind. Content should engage readers, by providing valuable information and providing further links which can guide readers, these can be to other websites or pages within the same website. Content should also be optimised for SEO, in order to increase the chances of users finding the content.