Google Panda Advice

Google’s most recent algorithm update has caused mayhem in the SEO community, even The Guardian are talking about it. Whether you’ve been hit or not I’m sure you’re aware of how massive the update is, both high quality and low quality sites alike are seeing drops in traffic exceeding 50% – a number that not only means less business but could eventually mean no business at all.

Fortunately Google has posted two waves of advice to help webmasters avoid negative effects by Panda. As with all updates a lot of webmasters are unhappy with the advice given, but see what you think of it.

Advice #1

In short, Google told webmasters that being hit meant they were being classified as a site with “low quality content” and that all of the content on your site should be reviewed immediately:

[I]f you believe you’ve been impacted by this change you should evaluate all the content on your site and do your best to improve the overall quality of the pages on your domain. Removing low quality pages or moving them to a different domain could help your rankings for the higher quality content.

Google are telling us the obvious, but everybody needs a shove. Google’s algorithm is moving towards a user-friendly web so as the algorithm improves and can recognise the difference between good and bad content, we’re going to see severe negative shifts in rankings of low-quality websites.

Advice #2

Google’s second round of advice, whilst similar to the first, is much more in-depth than the first round. The other difference is that it was delivered by Google’s very own Head of Search: Amit Singhal. Here’s the advice:

• Would you trust the information presented in this article?
• Is this article written by an expert or enthusiast who knows the topic well, or is it more shallow in nature?
• Does the site have duplicate, overlapping, or redundant articles on the same or similar topics with slightly different keyword variations?
• Would you be comfortable giving your credit card information to this site?
• Does this article have spelling, stylistic, or factual errors?
• Are the topics driven by genuine interests of readers of the site, or does the site generate content by attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?
• Does the article provide original content or information, original reporting, original research, or original analysis?
• Does the page provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
• How much quality control is done on content?
• Does the article describe both sides of a story?
• Is the site a recognized authority on its topic?
• Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don't get as much attention or care?
• Was the article edited well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
• For a health related query, would you trust information from this site?
• Would you recognize this site as an authoritative source when mentioned by name?
• Does this article provide a complete or comprehensive description of the topic?
• Does this article contain insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?
• Is this the sort of page you'd want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
• Does this article have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content?
• Would you expect to see this article in a printed magazine, encyclopedia or book?
• Are the articles short, unsubstantial, or otherwise lacking in helpful specifics?
• Are the pages produced with great care and attention to detail vs. less attention to detail?
• Would users complain when they see pages from this site?

What do you think?

So, what do you think about Google’s advice? Are they being too vague or do you think they’re giving more than enough information for webmasters to avoid negative rankings?