• Search Engine Land
  • Sections
    • SEO
    • SEM
    • Local
    • Retail
    • Google
    • Bing
    • Social
    • Resources
    • More
    • Home
  • Follow Us
    • Follow
  • Search Engine Land
  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Local
  • Retail
  • Google
  • Bing
  • Social
  • Resources
  • Live
  • More
  • Events
    • Follow
  • SUBSCRIBE

Search Engine Land

Search Engine Land
  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Local
  • Retail
  • Google
  • Bing
  • Social
  • Resources
  • More
  • Newsletters
  • Home
SEO

Hit By Panda Update? Google Has 23 Questions To Ask Yourself To Improve

Amit Singhal, Google’s head of search, published a blog post on the Google Webmaster Central blog named More guidance on building high-quality sites. Amit’s goal with this post is to have those webmasters impacted by this Panda Update, which rolled out internationally about a month ago, with some direction and guidance to help explain what […]

Barry Schwartz on May 6, 2011 at 4:01 pm
  • More

panda-crying Amit Singhal, Google’s head of search, published a blog post on the Google Webmaster Central blog named More guidance on building high-quality sites.

Amit’s goal with this post is to have those webmasters impacted by this Panda Update, which rolled out internationally about a month ago, with some direction and guidance to help explain what sites Google likes and which they dislike.

Amit said that he cannot document publicly the “actual ranking signals” but will share questions you should ask yourself and consider when trying to understand why a site was impacted by this update. Those questions include:

    1. Would you trust the information presented in this article?
    2. Is this article written by an expert or enthusiast who knows the topic well, or is it more shallow in nature?
    3. Does the site have duplicate, overlapping, or redundant articles on the same or similar topics with slightly different keyword variations?
    4. Would you be comfortable giving your credit card information to this site?
    5. Does this article have spelling, stylistic, or factual errors?
    6. 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?
    7. Does the article provide original content or information, original reporting, original research, or original analysis?
    8. Does the page provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
    9. How much quality control is done on content?
    10. Does the article describe both sides of a story?
    11. Is the site a recognized authority on its topic?
    12. 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?
    13. Was the article edited well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
    14. For a health related query, would you trust information from this site?
    15. Would you recognize this site as an authoritative source when mentioned by name?
    16. Does this article provide a complete or comprehensive description of the topic?
    17. Does this article contain insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?
    18. Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
    19. Does this article have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content?
    20. Would you expect to see this article in a printed magazine, encyclopedia or book?
    21. Are the articles short, unsubstantial, or otherwise lacking in helpful specifics?
    22. Are the pages produced with great care and attention to detail vs. less attention to detail?
    23. Would users complain when they see pages from this site?

      More Stories On The Google Panda Update:

      • Google Rolls Out Its Panda Update Internationally And Begins Incorporating Searcher Blocking Data
      • New York Times: Yes, Google’s Panda Update Hit NYT-Owned About.com
      • Panda Update: Google Lowers The Boom On eHow.com
      • Winners & Losers As Panda Goes Global? eHow, Bing’s Ciao.co.uk & More
      • 5 New Tactics For SEO Post-Panda
      • The Farmer Panda Impact Nobody Is Talking About
      • Yellow Pages SEO In The Post-Panda World
      • Hitwise Data Pegs Panda Impact On Demand Media Sites At 40%
      • Google Speaks More About The Farmer Update, AKA Panda Update
      • When Pandas Attack: Online Retailers Need To React
      • The Farmer/Panda Update: New Information From Google and The Latest from SMX West
      • Lessons Learned at SMX West: Google’s Farmer/Panda Update, White Hat Cloaking, And Link Building
      • Demand Media: Panda’s Impact On eHow.com “Significantly Overstated”
      • Your Site’s Traffic Has Plummeted Since Google’s Farmer/Panda Update. Now What?


      About The Author

      Barry Schwartz
      Barry Schwartz a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land and a member of the programming team for SMX events. He owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry's personal blog is named Cartoon Barry and he can be followed on Twitter here.

      Related Topics

      Channel: SEOFeatures: GeneralGoogle: SEOGoogle: Web SearchPanda Update Must-ReadsPanda Update NewsPanda Update Tips

      We're listening.

      Have something to say about this article? Share it with us on Facebook, Twitter or our LinkedIn Group.

      Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.
      See terms.

      ATTEND OUR EVENTS

      Lorem ipsum doler this is promo text about SMX events.

      February 23, 2021: SMX Report

      April 13, 2021: SMX Create

      May 18-19, 2021: SMX London

      June 8-9, 2021: SMX Paris

      June 15-16, 2021: SMX Advanced

      August 17, 2021: SMX Convert

      November 9-10, 2021: SMX Next

      October 2021: SMX Advanced Europe

      December 17, 2021: SMX Code

      Available On-Demand: SMX

      ×


      Learn More About Our SMX Events

      Discover actionable tactics that can help you overcome crucial marketing challenges. Our next conference will be held:

      MarTech 2021: March 16-17

      MarTech 2021: Sept. 14-15

      MarTech 2020: Watch On-Demand

      ×

      Attend MarTech - Click Here


      Learn More About Our MarTech Events

      White Papers

      • The State of Local Marketing Report 2020-2021
      • Quality CRM Data: The Key to Delivering Great Customer Experiences
      • How the Microsoft Search Network Can Maximize Your Search Campaigns
      • The Marketer’s Playbook for Customer Acquisition
      • How To Optimize SEO With UGC
      See More Whitepapers

      Webinars

      • How to Avoid the Digital Transformation Trap
      • How to Build a Marketing System of Record
      • Meet BIMI: The brand-boosting email security marketers must have for 2021
      See More Webinars

      Research Reports

      • Local Marketing Solutions for Multi-Location Businesses
      • Enterprise Digital Asset Management Platforms
      • Identity Resolution Platforms
      • Customer Data Platforms
      • B2B Marketing Automation Platforms
      • Call Analytics Platforms
      See More Research

      h
      Receive daily search news and analysis.
      Search Engine Land
      Download the Search Engine Land App on iTunes Download the Search Engine Land App on Google Play

      Channels

      • SEO
      • SEM
      • Local
      • Retail
      • Google
      • Bing
      • Social

      Our Events

      • SMX
      • MarTech

      Resources

      • White Papers
      • Research
      • Webinars
      • Search Marketing Expo
      • MarTech Conference

      About

      • About Us
      • Contact
      • Privacy
      • Marketing Opportunities
      • Staff
      • Connect With Us

      Follow Us

      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • LinkedIn
      • Newsletters
      • Instagram
      • RSS
      • Youtube
      • iOS App
      • Google Play

      © 2021 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

      Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok