Google updates its search ranking algorithm as many as 500 times every year. Its Panda updates are a part of this continued effort. All Google wants is to provide web users with a superior quality searching experience. Since junk or low quality content is produced continuously, Google's Panda is ready to attack at the interval of every 5-7 weeks. The recent one, called Panda 3.2 algorithm update, is only the beginning of several updates that Google plans to do this year. But are you really geared up to survive these attacks?
Creating a healthy web eco-system is Google's main goal. Since Google's the world's most preferred search engine, it can never afford to dissatisfy users that use it to find solutions (results) to their problems (queries).
In short, Google wants you to create high quality websites. Here are a couple of questions that will help you define a high quality website.
Does your website have multiple articles on a similar topic (with little keyword variations)?
Do users really trust your website?
Is the content on your website well-edited?
Do the articles on your website really help users?
Does your website have articles that users can recommend to others?
Do you display a lot of ads on your website?
Do you share insightful analysis and interesting information on your site?
How would your content look, if it appears in print?
If you don't want Google's Panda to attack or hit your website, you should never ignore the issues that the above-mentioned questions throw light upon.
The second important point is to satisfy your target audience's needs. No matter what business goals you want to achieve, you can never do it at the cost of making your target audiences unhappy. In fact, you should focus on creating content that provides quick solutions to their everyday problems.
And the only way to fulfill your audience's requirements is to find out who they are. Know their interests, aspirations, likes, dislikes and other behavioral attributes. Unless you know what an ideal customer for your business look like, you won't be able to offer what they want from you. Do the profiling right away!
To make sure you don't get hit by the Google's Panda, you need to keep a close watch on the analytics of your website. Log in to your Google analytics account to get the current picture of where your site stands. Metrics like time on site, bounce rate, exit rate, visitor loyalty can tell you a lot as to whether web users really find your website helpful and trust you as a valuable resource. If you have some serious usability issues with your website, fix them as quickly as possible.
If you want to escape Panda attacks in future, you should start building a strong community of followers (and advocates) around your brand. That's one of the most important pieces of advice you can use. Though it takes time and effort, building a community of loyal followers can become your shield to ward off the sudden effects of a Google Panda update.
Don't wait or it can be too late!
Was your website ever Panda-slapped? Let's hear the story in the comment section below.
