Over the past few days, there has been a lot of online chatter across the SEO community of an impending Google algorithm update. Many analytics were noticing a lot of changes in the search results of sites previously penalized by the search giant, especially those that were impacted by the Google Penguin update.
The buzz on forums was so convincing that people were bracing themselves for an update different from the Panda 4.0. A report on Search Engine Land (SEL), however, says there were no updates and that the ranking shifts are not due to any algorithmic changes.
As SEL news editor Barry Schwartz clarifies, “A Google spokesperson told us at Search Engine Land, there is no Penguin or other spam efforts going on now. So this update, at least according to Google, is not spam related.
“In fact, Google made it sound like there was no update at all,” Schwartz continued.
Many webmasters reported drastic changes in rankings over the past week, independent of the Panda 4.0 update. The supposed update mostly impacted websites that had Penguin issues. Because of the timeline of the release, many were skeptical if this was really Penguin-related. Either way, many SEO experts and webmasters saw considerable changes in rankings.
The general consensus is that Google is testing a new Penguin refresh of some sorts, and that they’re trying to roll it out slowly. Or that it could be an entirely different thing. After all, we just had a Panda 4.0 update about two weeks ago and a Spam algorithm update last weekend. Before that, there has been a lot of rankings shift, which describes all the signs of an update. Google has denied this, though.
Of course, this could just be one of the 500 or so changes per year that Google makes to their search engine.
What This Means for You
The good news for all our partners is that we always strive to be on top of these updates and we’re prepared to handle these changes. The quality of content we produce continues to improve, which means any updates targeting unnatural links and spammy content has little to no impact on your clients’ rankings. And if there are any impending updates, we’re always ready to adapt.
Get in touch with your account manager today if you have any concerns and queries about this supposed update or anything related to your rankings. Sign up now and become our partner to get our professional solutions and for more updates!