Remember when Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) rolled out its Panda search algorithm update back in 2011? It was hated, despised and pretty much feared throughout the entire online community. Panda was Google’s first real attempt at using artificial intelligence in a more efficient way than was previously utilized.
The Panda update made a huge impact on sites with redundant or thin content. Because Google has aims to be the world authority on high-quality information, it relies on providing accurate and valuable search results to its users. If it provides search results with sites that are nothing more than gibberish or filled with advertising, it would probably lose its user base to another search engine fairly quickly.
Google often updates its algorithms monthly, using over 200 facets to determine the difference between superior and uninformative sites. Google wants to feature sites that answer the questions its users are asking. So, Panda was the algorithm update that took those standards to task.
Also, Panda incorporated human quality testers to rate sites based upon factors such as design, trustworthiness, speed and quality. Panda also suggests removals for sites that have several pages of poor quality content. Well, on September 28, 2012, Google filed a patent for Panda.
Google was finally awarded the patent on March 25th. Furthermore, the patent is listed under Panda’s creators, Navneet Panda and Vladimir Ofitserov. Today, Panda is integrated into Google’s indexing. It has been around for three years. Additionally, even though it might be updated monthly, announcements are no longer made.
Unfortunately, Panda caused thousands of businesses to lose large amounts of money and to distrust Google. On the other hand, Google claims their next-generation update will be gentler on small sites and small businesses.
