Google Rolls Out Panda 4.1, it’s Latest Algorithm Update

Last week, Google unveiled it’s latest search engine algorithm update, Panda 4.1. With this update comes minor tweaks and hones to the last major release back in May, where the focus has been on detecting and removing low-quality content. This smaller update affects about 3 – 5% of all searches on Google, including sites like online lyrics sites, address and personal directory sites.

For those of you who may not know, Panda, is the label to the latest string of updates to Google’s algorithm that brings you back appropriate results when you enter a search on their website.

It’s the 27th update so far, and continues to prove that content is king when it comes to information on the internet. We go so far to say that relevant content is king — just because you have a 3000 word webpage doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a helpful article. Google knows this, and will penalize you for it if they catch you trying to outwit them.

Simple Practices for Improving SEO

There are simple practices you can employ in your blogging and webpage writing to ensure a solid foundation of good SEO. We recommend the following:

1. Eliminate thin and duplicate content. This stuff really hurts you when left unchecked.
2. Install the SEO for WordPress by Yoast plugin if your site runs on WordPress. Use the page analysis tool as a guideline (but not a rigid structure) for optimizing content.
3. Decide on one keyword phrase per page. Do not try to cram multiple topics into one page. A lot of times it helps to use a broader blanketing phrase to cover all the content you believe your users may be looking for.
4. Establish a schedule for publishing posts. Search engines like when they can predict your next update, just as people like knowing when they can find new content from you. Whether you want to blog once a month, once a week, or once a day, be consistent.
5. Writing multiple posts at once and scheduling them for the future makes your life a lot easier. If you like, you can write all your articles for the month, or the next 3 months, at once, then conveniently have them show on a set date.
6. Blog about more topics that loosely tie into your products and services. Expand your net for capturing searchers and improve your rankings by getting found for more topics that relate to what you sell.

You can also request a site review, and we’ll give you an audit of all you need to improve your search engine optimization.