The Differences Between Google Panda and Google Penguin
Google is the most popular search engine on the web which means that it is heavily monitored by a variety of strict algorithms that are regularly updated in order to ensure that marketing methods are as fair and ethical as possible. With this said, many markets still fail to recognise the differences between Google Panda and Google Penguin, the search engines top two algorithms. Read on as the team here at Internet Marketing Questions go over some of the differences that every marketer should know…
Why were Google Panda and Google Penguin introduced?
Introduced in 2011, the Panda algorithm was implemented in order to reward high-quality websites by increasing their ranking in the SERPs whilst penalising lower quality websites. At first it was known as the ‘Farmer’ update because it targeted content-farms, sites that collect and use stolen content for the purpose of hoodwinking the search engine, however it quickly affected many other low-quality sites too.
On the other hand, the Google Penguin algorithm was introduced in 2012 in order to target unnatural backlinks that websites had obtained through years upon years of black-hat usage. After all, a backlink is almost like a vote for a website that tells Google it can be trusted to deliver high-quality, relevant information and many backlinks can make a big difference during an SEO campaign. With this said, too make low-quality backlinks can be seen as spam which is why Google Penguin targets websites that used them maliciously.
Can websites recover from a hit by Google Panda or Google Penguin?
The Google Panda and Google Penguin algorithms are almost two sides of the same coin because they try to emphasise the importance of ethical SEO campaigns by focusing on quality and white-hat methods. With this said, websites who have been caught out do have the opportunity to recover in the SERPs. For example, removing duplicated or poor-quality content will help websites improve their ranking during the next Google Panda refresh, however those affected by Google Penguin penalisations often have to wait longer to see their ranking recover because the algorithm isn’t updated as regularly.
Whilst it is important to take the Panda and Penguin algorithms into consideration during any marketing approach, technicians should be aware that they are updated hundreds of times every year. In fact, many of these changes are so small that they make little to no difference in the SERPs. With this said, the Panda algorithm has managed to increase the quality of content found on many websites whilst the Penguin algorithm has attacked the use of unnatural backlinks and the removal of both of these is essential in order to carry out a fair and ethical SEO campaign. To find out more information, get in contact with a member of the SEO Enterprise team today!