In July we asked if the Google Panda update was a rolling update? Meaning, did the algorithm update dynamically by itself without having Google hit a button to push out an update.
The answer was no - at least back then.
But it is expected that the Panda algorithm would one day be part of Google's rolling and continuously updating algorithm - working in almost real time, when possible.
At this point in time, I do not think Panda is a rolling update. But some are thinking it is.
A WebmasterWorld thread has some asking if it started to be a rolling update yet.
Tedster said partially:
I expect that eventually Panda will become more dynamic. Since it's now a third essential leg of the ranking algorithm (relevance+connectedness+quality) having it only update manually every few weeks or worse doesn't sound like a Google-style long term solution to me.The only areas of the algo that update slowly, as far as I can see, are things like automated taxonomy generation and n-gram identification. Those areas do not need rolling updates because they are global characteristics of the entire web and those don't change in a fast sweeping fashion.
So what we're seeing in some cases are reports that new pages on a Pandalyzed website can sometimes rank well, even though established pages stay demoted. I'm not sure if that means a rolling update, or just a less oppressive application of the Panda score.
So what do you think? Are we rolling now? If not, partially? How soon?
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
