Penguin or Panda?
Ever since Google rolled out Penguin 1.0 on April 24th, I’ve been heavily analyzing websites that were hit by the update (I’ve now analyzed close to 75 websites hit by Penguin). Based on my analysis, I have written several posts covering my findings. In my latest post, An Update from the Over Optimization Front Lines, I explained how important it is for webmasters to know exactly what hit them before taking action. I know that sounds simple, but I’ve had several companies contact me believing they were hit by Penguin, when in fact, they were hit by Panda.
Panda, Penguin, and The Algorithm Sandwich
After Penguin 1.0 was released, Google also explained that a Panda update was rolled out a few days before Penguin (on 4/19). Then, to make matters even more confusing, Google rolled out a Panda refresh on 4/27. To quickly recap, Panda rolled out on 4/19, then Penguin on 4/24, and then a Panda refresh on 4/27. Yes, that’s essentially an algo sandwich special, with a side of insanity. As you can imagine, webmasters that aren’t extremely familiar with SEO could very easily think they were hit by Penguin (since that was the primary topic during the time period).
The Danger of Not Knowing
Since Penguin and Panda target two different issues, it’s extremely important to know the exact algorithm update that hit your website. Panda targets low quality content, thin content, duplicate content, etc., while Penguin targets webspam (and at this point it’s heavily targeting unnatural inbound links). So, if you incorrectly believe you were hit by Penguin and start addressing links, then you would be wasting your time… On the flip side, if you incorrectly believe you were hit by Panda and start addressing low quality content, then you could also be wasting your time.
And to make matters worse, both Penguin and Panda will be rolled out periodically. That means you won’t know if your latest refinements actually made a difference until Pandas and Penguins come knocking on your door again. And that is exactly why I wrote this post today. I’ve had several people mistakenly believe they were hit by Penguin, when it was Panda (or vice versa). And some were already making changes, based on the wrong assessment. So, don’t prune your links if you were hit by Panda, and don’t gut content if you were hit by Penguin. Know what hit you, and then act.
How To Determine If You Were Hit by Penguin or Panda
Working in Google Analytics
1) Check Your Dates
The first thing you should do is launch Google Analytics and drill into Google Organic reporting. Set the timeframe to April 1st through May 15th. More on why May is important in a minute. This will give you a good view of traffic by day during the various algorithm updates. Remember, Panda was on 4/19, Penguin was on 4/24, and then a Panda refresh rolled out on 4/27.
In the graphs below, you can clearly see that one site was hit by Penguin while the other has been hit by Panda (twice).
For More And Real Articles Click Here.....
Ever since Google rolled out Penguin 1.0 on April 24th, I’ve been heavily analyzing websites that were hit by the update (I’ve now analyzed close to 75 websites hit by Penguin). Based on my analysis, I have written several posts covering my findings. In my latest post, An Update from the Over Optimization Front Lines, I explained how important it is for webmasters to know exactly what hit them before taking action. I know that sounds simple, but I’ve had several companies contact me believing they were hit by Penguin, when in fact, they were hit by Panda.
Panda, Penguin, and The Algorithm Sandwich
After Penguin 1.0 was released, Google also explained that a Panda update was rolled out a few days before Penguin (on 4/19). Then, to make matters even more confusing, Google rolled out a Panda refresh on 4/27. To quickly recap, Panda rolled out on 4/19, then Penguin on 4/24, and then a Panda refresh on 4/27. Yes, that’s essentially an algo sandwich special, with a side of insanity. As you can imagine, webmasters that aren’t extremely familiar with SEO could very easily think they were hit by Penguin (since that was the primary topic during the time period).
The Danger of Not Knowing
Since Penguin and Panda target two different issues, it’s extremely important to know the exact algorithm update that hit your website. Panda targets low quality content, thin content, duplicate content, etc., while Penguin targets webspam (and at this point it’s heavily targeting unnatural inbound links). So, if you incorrectly believe you were hit by Penguin and start addressing links, then you would be wasting your time… On the flip side, if you incorrectly believe you were hit by Panda and start addressing low quality content, then you could also be wasting your time.
And to make matters worse, both Penguin and Panda will be rolled out periodically. That means you won’t know if your latest refinements actually made a difference until Pandas and Penguins come knocking on your door again. And that is exactly why I wrote this post today. I’ve had several people mistakenly believe they were hit by Penguin, when it was Panda (or vice versa). And some were already making changes, based on the wrong assessment. So, don’t prune your links if you were hit by Panda, and don’t gut content if you were hit by Penguin. Know what hit you, and then act.
How To Determine If You Were Hit by Penguin or Panda
Working in Google Analytics
1) Check Your Dates
The first thing you should do is launch Google Analytics and drill into Google Organic reporting. Set the timeframe to April 1st through May 15th. More on why May is important in a minute. This will give you a good view of traffic by day during the various algorithm updates. Remember, Panda was on 4/19, Penguin was on 4/24, and then a Panda refresh rolled out on 4/27.
In the graphs below, you can clearly see that one site was hit by Penguin while the other has been hit by Panda (twice).
For More And Real Articles Click Here.....
