Google Panda Prompts Panic – How to Face 4.0

Each time Google announces a new algorithm update…or doesn’t announce it at all as is usually the case…the world goes into something of a blind panic. Those in the online business community in particular end up in something of a frenzied battle for survival, praying nightly that their sites won’t crash and burn entirely. All very scary stuff, but when you actually take a step back and look at what’s been going on for the last few years or so, you begin to realise it’s anything but a surprise.In fact, Google Panda 4.0 was one major update that online business owners could have and should have been well-prepared for. Every update rolled out since the beginning of 2012 has been primarily geared toward the same thing – weak content and high bounce rates will not win you any favour whatsoever. By contrast, genuine sites of quality are hitting all-new highs by the day and reveling in their newfound yet hard-fought success.   And what’s even more interesting about Panda 4.0 is the way in which Google was unusually chatty about the whole thing. They didn’t print the rulebook in full, but they at least made it abundantly clear what we all should and should not be doing.Since algorithm updates became regular occurrences…early 2011 was when it all started kicking off…spam became the primary target for Google’s on-going strikes. All manner of spam SEO tactics found their way into the crosshairs over the ensuing months and years – now more than ever though it’s content that’s being examined and evaluated.Remember being told “Content is King” back in 2011? Well, now you know why…not to mention why you should have taken heed!As is always the case, there have been big-time losers and some very proud winners with the latest Panda 4.0 rollout. Quite contrary to the usual rule of thumb however, it’s not been just the plucky newbies at the bottom that have faced the brunt of it all while the biggest players at the top coast went through unscathed. In fact, one of the most heavily penalized sites of all since Panda 4.0 went public was and is none other than eBay – the multibillion dollar online retail site.The same also applies…albeit to a lesser extent…with other big sites like Ask.com, which came out of the update process with more than a few bruises. As for why, it’s simply a case of the Panda 4.0 update taking a wholly non-discriminatory approach to weeding out sites that break the rules and delivering them a sound whooping. Some of the biggest offenders of all are duplicate content, expired links, pages of little relevance and generally any content that’s considered less than outstanding.The very nature of such sites like eBay and Ask.com has always meant a great deal of chaff is mixed in with the good stuff – Google isn’t playing nice anymore with those that keep it this way.As for the advice to take away from it all, technically it’s as simple as going back a couple of years and revisiting the lessons and advice being pumped out at the time.Content is no longer king – it’s God as far as Google is concerned!