We live in a post-Panda world when it comes to content online. Google’s Panda update (if you aren’t familiar) intended to punish sites full of what the search giant considered to be “low-quality content” in their search algorithm. Did they succeed? Depends on who you ask.
SEOmoz did a great piece on the winners and losers of the Panda update which details who took the biggest hits. Unsurprisingly, a good chunk of the search marketing community was absolutely outraged. There wasn’t much they could do, however, as there’s no fighting Google. Those impacted were forced to sit and stare from the sidelines as their sites saw huge drops in both traffic and revenue as a result of a significant change in Google’s algorithm. This report from Pixelrage details an example of such damage.
How do I feel about Panda?
Content mills were hit the hardest by Panda, which is clearly detailed by SEOmoz’s report. This alone sends a huge message from Google, a sentiment that says “Don’t focus on SEO; focus on producing quality content.” It’s a sentiment that I agree with wholeheartedly, both as a writer and web-user. Over-optimized sites are frustrating and often void of meaningful information. They probably should be punished and I feel that Google’s intentions were in the right place. Inevitably, some sites took hits when perhaps they shouldn’t have. Others, however, flourished.
A good website is worth returning to. A keyword-stuffed blog with “immaculate” site-architecture that’s filled to the brim with ads is not a good website. Google knows this, and through Panda, they let the content writers and search marketers know as well.
Google wants fresh, quality content and they want it on a consistent basis. At the end of the day, that’s essentially how sites thrive and grow. You visit sites like Mashable and TechCrunch because they provide interesting, unique information consistently and don’t overload you with ads. That’s why they’re popular. That’s why they thrive.
Just some food from thought.
For a bit more on content in a post-Panda world, I wrote a piece about the importance of unique content and blogging for small businesses a few months ago.
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I highly recommend this article a writer friend of mind just posted on his blog. I thought is explains content writing in the post Panda world very well!
SEO and the Writer’s Desert Island
http://steinmedia.tumblr.com/post/11994803875/seo-and-the-writers-desert-island