One of the most significant Google algorithm updates was the so-called Panda update, which was rolled out in early 2011. It reportedly affected around 12 percent of search results, and many small businesses suddenly saw a drop in traffic coming from search engines because of the change. While Panda was supposed to penalize low-quality sites, many people thought the update was unfair to some smaller businesses. Google’s Matt Cutts has now said they are working on a new, “softer” Panda algorithm that should help small businesses.

The History of the Panda Algorithm

Written by Google engineers Navneet Panda and Vladimir Ofitserov, the Panda update was released in February 2011. It sent a strong message to SEO content writers and webmasters trying to manipulate search rankings: Google would penalize content farms and sites it thought were manufacturing low-quality content. Basically, businesses with duplicate content, little original content, or too many ads would do worse in search results. It had a major affect on the SEO industry and content marketing strategies, and many small businesses were penalized.

Many updates followed, but Panda had a major update in February 2013, which was developed to further promote sites with high-quality content. According to Google, a high-quality site is: “…trustworthy, has original and factually correct content, isn’t biased or one-sided, doesn’t receive a high volume of user complaints, and has content that is comprehensive and thorough.” Low-quality sites are ones with paid links, have hardly any valuable content, and have too many ads. Ultimately, Google have been trying to give users the most relevant and useful results for any search query.

Panda: The Next Generation

Many small businesses would welcome a more sensitive Panda algorithm. Some business owners have claimed that the original Panda update seriously harmed their business, and even cost jobs. They claimed that larger organizations and big brands with more resources were outperforming them in organic results, even though their content was less relevant to the original query. It is hoped that the new update will favor content that specifically answers search queries and gives higher rankings to up-to-date content, not just big brands.

Matt Cutts recently announced at Search Marketing Expo that some of the Google team are working on the “next generation” Panda update that would have a positive impact on smaller businesses. No one knows exactly how the new update will help smaller organizations do better in search rankings, but anything that improves the visibility of smaller brands in organic results will be welcomed by the small business community.

The Future of Panda

Google doesn’t want people to change content marketing or SEO strategies to try to improve rankings from the new version of Panda, so they’re saying nothing about how it will work. People will only see its true impact once it has been fully introduced over the coming months. Google has also said that they’re unlikely to announce future Panda updates, as from now on, changes to the algorithm will be rolled out gradually over a number of days. Matt Cutts said at a recent conference that this will make future changes less noticeable: “Rather than having some huge change that happens on a given day, you are more likely in the future to see Panda deployed gradually as we rebuild the index.”

Panda and the Future of Content Marketing

It’s clear that if you’re a small business that regularly produces original, quality content, you shouldn’t need to change your content strategy. If you’re having trouble maintaining your content strategy you can buy unique SEO articles or custom content for your website from Constant Content. It might also be worthwhile to look over your website and social media content and remove any material that is not particularly high-quality. If you don’t want to remove it entirely, you can still block content from being indexed, or simply rewrite it, as long as it is written to a high standard and is valuable to readers.

Because no one knows exactly how consequential the “next generation” Panda update is going to be, the best thing businesses can do is continue using established SEO techniques. Building quality links and distributing high-quality content will continue to boost search rankings, and engaging with your audience through social media and other channels will help increase brand awareness and build credibility. Only time will tell how much the new Panda algorithm really helps smaller companies, but the new announcement gives hope to every small business competing for online attention.