Google stopped announcing Panda algorithm updates early last year, when they included these updates in their rolling algorithm updates. Cutts broke this silence about Panda updates, however, last May 20th when he announced the rollout of Panda 4.0.
Google is rolling out our Panda 4.0 update starting today.
— Matt Cutts (@mattcutts) May 20, 2014
According to Google, this update affects the world differently based on language. Panda 4.0 will impact English queries at ~7.5%. The update is said to be a gentler and softer version of the Panda algorithm, which gives small businesses a chance to appear high up on the SERPs alongside big brands.
Update Not a Surprise; Volatile SERPs Signal Update
The update itself did not come as a big surprise, as SERPs were very volatile in the month preceding Cutts’ announcement. SERPs volatility measurement tools displayed these drastic changes, as you can see below:
MozCast’s Algo Temperature Graph shows drastic changes in the SERPs a week before the update, and varied temperatures before that. There was a period of four days with very low algo temperature, followed by a sudden spike, another fall, and the sudden increase just the day before Panda 4.0 was released.
SERPMetrics’ Flux Chart shows the same movement. Some of the fluctuations, however, may also be caused by the fact that Google also rolled out their Spam Algorithm version 2.0 just this past weekend.
What This Means for You
The good news for all our partners is we’ve continued to improve the quality of content we produce for your online marketing campaigns, which means you can expect very minimal impact on your clients’ current rankings. Because it’s a softer version of Panda, your SMB clients may improve their current rankings in the days to come.
Contact your account manager today if you have any questions about the new Panda update. Sign up now and become our partner to get our solutions and more. Keep checking back for more updates!
