Getting Cozy on the SEO Panda Veranda : Web & Search Engine Optimizers : RippleSmith

Just when you thought the little guy was happy and content up in his tree chewing on some bamboo, Matt Cutts Tweeted and confirmed that the new Panda 4.0 latest algorithm update was in full effect. But will this Panda be a cuddly, gentle little friend to SEO, or will the claws come out in search of fresh meat? If you are an SEO consultant you will need to get cozy on the Panda veranda, and this will require you to understand exactly how the update affects your strategies.

What Kind of a Sound Does A Panda Make?

It is really too early to tell how Panda will affect SEO but what this update conveys is plain and clear: Google algorithm updates like this will surely cause some pretty severe fluctuations in rankings and the emphasis is being stressed more assertively that good quality writing, relative content, and originality is preeminent for SEO prosperity.

Will Panda go for the Jugular?

Oh there will be blood. Hereâ€™s the thing: if you have a website with a high volume of old pages that havenâ€™t had a content update since the last time people cared about Miley Cyrus, the fluffy Panda might bare his teeth (pun intended and yes I know a panda is not technically a bear) and severe your siteâ€™s ranking like it is vulnerable prey. Remember, the Panda algorithm was originally designed to increase the ranking of high-quality content sites while lowering minimal, low-quality sites down into the dirt of the search results. If you have thin, bland content you have more or less exposed yourself like a baby deer trembling in the middle of the jungle, and the famished Panda predator is on the prowl!

Getting on Pandaâ€™s Good Side

If you want to avoid becoming provisions for the Panda then you need to do a number of things to make sure your content isnâ€™t mistaken as antiquated, forgotten â€œblog blah blahâ€. First of all, do your keyword research using Moz to determine what is being searched in your industry and how competitive the keywords are. Your keywords and key phrases will be the ammunition, and your content will be the gun that fires a warning shot over Pandaâ€™s head letting it know, respectfully, not to charge and rip your websiteâ€™s ranking to shreds.

The next thing to do is structure your content in a clear and fluent manner. A diligent SEO specialist will test absolutely everything, so donâ€™t be afraid to try one type of structure protocol on a few pages while launching another format on some other pages. You can use Authority Labs to track all your siteâ€™s pages and study a detailed time sensitive report that will help you make better educated decisions on how to optimize your pages.

Finally, make sure your content is supported on a platform that is properly indexed, and donâ€™t forget to fetch your content through Google Webmaster Tools so that Panda can recognize you are indeed a noble content creator who contributes high-quality material to the web thus making search engine land a better place! If you can accomplish these steps, you will be a welcomed guest on Pandaâ€™s veranda enjoying a higher organic ranking, as a higher ranked diacritic, basking all smiles in online existence resting atop a higher echelon of the predator/prey search chart.