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We have written a tremendous number of stories on the Google Panda update - a tremendous. So stating that Google's Panda update goes well beyond targeting content farms is likely obvious to many but it is an important note.
A WebmasterWorld thread has one member who spoke with Matt Cutts, Google's lead of web spam, while at PubCon and he said that Matt told him that the Panda algorithm was originally aimed only at content farms but has gone well beyond that.
Whatson, a WebmasterWorld member since 2002, said that Matt told him, "it [Panda} was targeted at content farmers but has gone much further than that."
We all now it was originally released to target content farms, which is why Danny Sullivan named it the Farmer Update originally and then Wired told the story of the internal name, which was Panda. But at some point, the Panda update went well beyond just targeting content farms - when exactly is not clear, but most would agree, Panda is more than a farmer update.
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
Comments:
Teachermckee
11/17/2011 02:07 pm
Funny how it was pushed out just about 7 weeks after a new CEO takes the reigns of Google. A more profit driven CEO. It's clear with the sudden shut down of all the cool projects they have going on. Call it a conspiracy theory, but I'm 100% convince Panda was a profit driven filter; nothing more. They can PR spin it all they want, but it was for the dough.
@JoeHobot
11/17/2011 03:20 pm
I think you are missing the point! If my site was getting 1.5 million visitors per month and dropped to 0.5 million visitors per month... (has adsense) do you think that they are profiting or losing money? Think again... And Again...
Nick Stamoulis
11/17/2011 03:25 pm
I wonder if this was Google's intent with Panda all along or if it grew of it's own accord? Enough sites have been caught by one or more of the updates that it's clear it isn't just about content farms.
Purple
11/17/2011 03:49 pm
Oh, the money made with AdSense is still there, only not in your pocket anymore but in someone else's. Of course this is profit driven. "Better" search results lead to more people using Google leads to more ads being show lead to more clicks lead to more money for Google leads to more money for their shareholders.
Google Steals From Us
11/17/2011 04:53 pm
Panda is a moneymaker for Google. Their $$$$ increased tremendously after Panda.
Larry Page Should Be in Jail
11/17/2011 04:55 pm
Google has an incentive to have people click on ads. Larry the Crook pushed for Panda and expect more of it.
Amit Singhal Knows It
11/17/2011 04:58 pm
Idiot, Google has not gained market share with panda, but clicks have increased. Worse search results = more clicks.
Fedor
11/17/2011 05:02 pm
I don't think it's purely profit driven. You can't deny that this has had positive results for the users. Sure, it's not perfect and it did affect a large nunber of good sites but overall, I see it as a positive thing in the results and the longrun. Those who trust Google explicitly should know better now. This is not the first time Google has pooped where it eats.
Justin Howley
11/17/2011 05:05 pm
Mixed feelings. Being effected by Panda and no good reason so I still can't get the technical gyst of the exact reason we were deranged and others spam sites are still there.
QWERTYUIO
11/17/2011 05:09 pm
Fedorski, Google makes real money only on e-commerce searches. Look who's on top there
igor
11/17/2011 08:00 pm
Now just waiting for an algorithm that will search for useful clips on YouTube...
Prude
11/18/2011 02:37 am
Nice article. I agree with you. I think panda is more than a farmer update. Thanks for sharing.
Karan
11/18/2011 04:59 am
Panda threaten the webmaster world and i agree with your view
Ferdous Haider
11/18/2011 05:39 am
I actually liked the panda update and it promises a better web search.
Bilal Sarwari
11/18/2011 06:50 am
I get many benefits from Panda I lost little traffic but after working hard and improving my work I am again on top for my targeting keywords, I am in favor person because its helping normal persons to get better result and save a lot of time.
seoin dia
11/18/2011 10:51 am
yes I agree.... at the beginning I too lost traffic and was push back to 3rd page but work according to guidelines and now I am back on 1st page. Google panda brought the best out of my site.
Keshab Raj
11/18/2011 01:59 pm
Its like killing people and saying that oh sh*t this is not the person I wanna kill.. :(
Lincoln
11/18/2011 02:56 pm
Huh? A decision by google no purely profit driven? Hello! Wake up and smell the coffee!
Fedor
11/18/2011 06:57 pm
Please enlighten everyone with your infinite wisdom as to how every update is purely profit driven? I'm surprised a millionaire like you would have time to comment on such trivial matters since you've obviously figured everything out. Oh, that's right, you got slapped by Panda. Don't be too sore about it or anything. If you analyse something for long enough you could tie it to the eventual destruction of the universe, not just profits. If everything Google did was purely profit driven it would have died a long time ago, you have to add value to your users not just your pocket.
Leilamorris
11/18/2011 08:08 pm
What did you do to improve?
Shermanandsheryl
11/19/2011 01:34 pm
What a company making changes to increase profits. How could they!? Isn't that why we are here. How many people reading this article are building their website for some other reason then to Increasing profits? It's business! Remember google is not a non profit organization. There sole purpose is not to increase your profits.
Seo Vietnam
11/20/2011 04:44 am
Panda is targeting much more than content farms, look at the penalties for duplicate content being handed out. I'm personally more afraid of the increase of users that use https or safe searches where in your analytics, you will see organic visits without knowing which keyword was used to find you on SERPs. That does put a dent in the analysis of your SEO campaign's effectiveness. Does anyone have any views on this?
Wsoomro
11/20/2011 04:57 am
My Site Has Original Contents And No Farm. But Still Is Low In Google Why?
Megan
11/21/2011 09:06 am
its becz your site doesn't have authority links or links that have good high quality content.
Sara Pathak91
11/21/2011 12:52 pm
My Blog URL is http://mcx-ncdex-commodity-trading-tips.blogspot.com/ My blog keyword ranking was very good in Google before 18 nov. but after that its ranking are very down. I thing my site is affected by Google Panda. So now suggest me what should I do to recover my keywords ranking..........plzz help me.....
Link Worx Seo
11/21/2011 05:27 pm
The elimination of content farming and placing more authority for relevancy was just a small portion of the changes. The clear goal was to eliminate spamming and content spinning of non-quality content. There of course of more reasons, but these are the just of it.