How has Panda Changed Your SEO Strategy?

31 replies
  • SEO
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Panda. When most IMers hear this word, they won't think about a furry, adorable evolutionary liability that likes to eat for 22 hours in a day and refuses to reproduce. Rather, they'll think about that fateful day when all of us woke up to see traffic down by 50% and all our SEO efforts cut in half.

Unfortunately, because of exams and pure laziness, I let my sites slide instead of putting in extra hours to get them back up.

I've picked up things since then, but I'm still not where I was pre-Panda.

My perch affords me a limited view, but I can at least make out that Panda has definitely changed things dramatically. Many SEO strategies that used to work before aren't quite panning out today. Forum profile links is now just a waste of time and even article marketing isn't delivering the same results (my observations).

I would like to ask you, fellow warriors, how Google Panda has changed your strategy? What are you doing differently now than you did before Panda? Are you still making the same sites, or are you moving on to other projects?

As for me, I've given up on building micro niche sites. It's difficult to create backlinks for them, and most of my micro niche sites were heavily punished in the update. Auto blogs are also a big no-no.

From what I've seen, forum profile links delivers almost no returns, and even article marketing isn't quite what it used to be. Blog commenting has been severely abused and isn't delivering worthwhile results.

I've taken up social media much more aggressively now and have a Twitter presence for all my sites. I've also switched to creating larger, niche dominating sites that attract backlinks automatically. This, of course, means much more work on my part, but I feel this is the right direction and will deliver solid results in due course. I've updated the design to focus more on retaining users than generating ad clicks. Previously, the average user used to spend around 20 seconds on my sites, collectively. Now this figure is up to more than 3 minutes.

I've altered the content heavily and instead of focusing on keywords, I'm emphasizing more natural sounding, well edited, well crafted articles. One tech related site I run could give Gizmodo a run for its money!

So I ask you again, fellow warriors, what changes have you implemented in your sites and your SEO plan? Let's have a meaningful discussion on this topic because from what I can see, most newbies are still sticking to old SEO methods that aren't quite as effective in the post Panda world.
#changed #panda #seo #strategy
  • Profile picture of the author Morphius
    Panda didn't change anything we do. If you do good SEO...you work by Google guidelines you will see results. If you start buying links here for $20 and think this will bring you to first page of Google, you in for a surprise. SEO is a long process, and there are no short cuts.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rough Outline
    It hasn't affected me at all. I never used duplicate content and I never spam crazy with backlinks either. I've been fine before and since Panda.
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  • Profile picture of the author Altug
    I too have been fine - Panda didn't effect me in the slightest from what I can see.

    Funny thing is I have barely touched my site in terms of SEO for about 2 years now (and I've added very minimal content in that time too) and my traffic has remained consistent and for the most part, higher than it was 2 years ago.

    You're on to something with your idea for an authority site (that's what mine is and changing the design to retain users. Throw unique, engaging content into the stew and I really don't see how Google is rocket science. Google have been showing me love for years. Unsurprisingly, when I started making 2-4 page thin websites, they dropped those like a hot potato after my initial success in ranking them.
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  • Profile picture of the author origin
    The basics of SEo has not changed in a long time. 1. Good content + 2 links. Thin sites, thick sites. I have 1 page sites that rank and 50+ page websites that rank. Then I have some websites that do not rank ever, thick or thin. It is almost a number's game, sometimes you are going to hit and sometimes not.

    But the basics stay the same, good solid content + links (from wherever you can get it). That recipe has not changed in a long time and I do not see it changing anytime soon.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Panda didn't change my SEO strategy. It just made it more effective.
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      • Profile picture of the author howinfo
        As lot of article directories got hit by Panda then obviously we were quite worried at first as the major part of our site is article directory and although all the articles in our directory is carefully selected and good quality there was still big drop in traffic after the first Panda update but luckily it recovered by itself in few months or so and it is pretty much all back to normal now and quite stable. We have not really changes anything in off page SEO as it is most part out of our hands as people who submit articles usually do their own link building to the articles using various different methods, however, as ON page SEO is concerned we do concentrate even more on quality and unique contend now just to be proactive and avoid any future penalties.
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      • Profile picture of the author imMindset
        I haven't changed much except that now I'm placing more emphasis on social media integration for all my sites (i.e connecting my blogs to FB, Twitter and others via Hootsuite and publishing new content regularly).

        I'd have to disagree that blog commenting and other strategies aren't worthwhile. As long as you're not spamming sites, and providing value, you can still get good quality links, build credibility, and not to mention very targeted traffic. It's really the way you approach your link building. So it's not that certain strategies have suddenly become ineffective but rather how we choose to use them. The less we try to game the system and provide value across the web, get as much as content on our sites syndicated/shared, and build relationships, the better results we'll have - not just for SEO purposes either, although it's really starting to help!
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      • Profile picture of the author jwmann2
        Unless you were doing heavy article directory submission, stealing articles, or pasting content from your website to article directories, most people are not affected by the Google Panda update.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sysbase
    Not really. Just more enforcement to produce quality sites and quality links.
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  • Profile picture of the author vtotheyouknow
    I'm with you @sashas, no more micro niche sites for me!

    I think a lot of newbie IMers will find this very beneficial. What do I mean? Well, one thing that I wish I had done differently if I could start over again is to have worked on ONE THING AT A TIME!

    That means one site at a time, one monetization strategy at a time until it makes money, period.

    Building a boatload of microniche sites, for instance, is a great way to justify constant diversions of your attention. No bueno. This might propel beginners to approach IM as more of a long-term sustainable business than as a series of one-night stands...uh, so to speak ;-)
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  • Profile picture of the author mrclean78
    Post panda is all about TRUSTrank! EDU, Gov sites are king according to my data.
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  • Profile picture of the author SocialMediaOwls
    I think most smart IM'ers here have always realized that article marketing was junk and have targeted their leads to where people hang out, which is social media
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    • Profile picture of the author myob
      Nothing has changed in my marketing model for over 15 years. So far, there is nothing I have found that can generate more massive, convertable traffic than writing articles. My articles are read on authoritative and top ranked sites as well as relevant targeted ezines. The competition within these niches succumb, and very quickly crumble like the dust. SEO has always been outmatched by quality writing, and it will forever be thus.
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  • Profile picture of the author YasirYar
    Panda has changed nothing as far as the SEO strategy is concerned. Yes we are more careful about not getting crappy links to our site, but we were careful about it even before Panda came along.

    The bottom line is tht unless you have tons of crappy links pointing to your domain, you will be fine.
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  • Profile picture of the author Fernando Veloso
    Glad some of you dropped the micro niche sites - some of us appreciate the room to make money.

    And NO, nothing changed - simply cause next update will bring back almost everything that was tossed last 2 updates.

    You see, G can't just drop everything - otherwise they'll lose the ability to rank sites. So right now people drop technique A, B and C cause "it doesn't work". Good for you. When those techniques get back to work (next update most probably) you'll end up redoing almost everything you tossed away.

    G works in cycles. Faster you realize this, better results you'll have. Just my 2 cents based on 7 years battling up and down competitive keywords.

    Take it or leave it.
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  • Profile picture of the author trishseo
    Originally Posted by sashas View Post

    Panda. When most IMers hear this word, they won't think about a furry, adorable evolutionary liability that likes to eat for 22 hours in a day and refuses to reproduce. Rather, they'll think about that fateful day when all of us woke up to see traffic down by 50% and all our SEO efforts cut in half.

    Unfortunately, because of exams and pure laziness, I let my sites slide instead of putting in extra hours to get them back up.

    I've picked up things since then, but I'm still not where I was pre-Panda.

    My perch affords me a limited view, but I can at least make out that Panda has definitely changed things dramatically. Many SEO strategies that used to work before aren't quite panning out today. Forum profile links is now just a waste of time and even article marketing isn't delivering the same results (my observations).

    I would like to ask you, fellow warriors, how Google Panda has changed your strategy? What are you doing differently now than you did before Panda? Are you still making the same sites, or are you moving on to other projects?

    As for me, I've given up on building micro niche sites. It's difficult to create backlinks for them, and most of my micro niche sites were heavily punished in the update. Auto blogs are also a big no-no.

    From what I've seen, forum profile links delivers almost no returns, and even article marketing isn't quite what it used to be. Blog commenting has been severely abused and isn't delivering worthwhile results.

    I've taken up social media much more aggressively now and have a Twitter presence for all my sites. I've also switched to creating larger, niche dominating sites that attract backlinks automatically. This, of course, means much more work on my part, but I feel this is the right direction and will deliver solid results in due course. I've updated the design to focus more on retaining users than generating ad clicks. Previously, the average user used to spend around 20 seconds on my sites, collectively. Now this figure is up to more than 3 minutes.

    I've altered the content heavily and instead of focusing on keywords, I'm emphasizing more natural sounding, well edited, well crafted articles. One tech related site I run could give Gizmodo a run for its money!

    So I ask you again, fellow warriors, what changes have you implemented in your sites and your SEO plan? Let's have a meaningful discussion on this topic because from what I can see, most newbies are still sticking to old SEO methods that aren't quite as effective in the post Panda world.
    A lot of the failed strategies still actually work if you don't follow the herd mentality and copy what the masses do. Ultimately, Google is always forced to react to the herd mentality and adjust their algorithm.

    I once thought blog comments were useful. One of my SEO VAs then ranked a fairly competitive term using only high PR dofollow blog comments commented by hand that were not spammed to death. Most of them required registration. He did blog comments and blog comments only!

    This blew my mind because I had basically written blog comments off for anything more than indexing other kinds of backlinks.

    Quality blog comments, quality forum links, and quality article sites still matter.

    Having said that, Google themselves has said they are learning more towards using social media as a ranking guide so I would say you are definitely on the right path.
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  • Profile picture of the author Reed7
    My own sites are structured with lots of value added info period. I only focus on quality back linking, nothing to fast, same with content posting-regular, consistent pattern, and I get the same ranking pg1 results. I typically stay away from any quick tactics especially with back linking, and don't touch the sites, achieves best results even after Panda , in my own case.
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    • Profile picture of the author ThatMichaelKid
      It doesn't really affect SEO strategy, because sticking to the guide lines, to a T, is what it's all about. It's just trying to keep the relevant information to the top in ranks. It teaches you to be careful and original with what you make also.
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      • Profile picture of the author methew12
        IF you are working according to the Webmaster's Guidelines then Panda will never hit your SEO. and if you will use Grey hat SEO or just building tons of backlinks then it will surly drop your rankings.
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  • Profile picture of the author owenlee
    just to play safe is to use unique content and you are safe...it makes sense that readers will want something that is readable...just imagine you are the reader and you want fresh content...
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  • Profile picture of the author Jermaine Tabor
    There not cracking down on original content. The people who flood the internet with garbage.
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  • Profile picture of the author YasirYar
    What I also know is that ALL the websites which have gone down after the Panda Update have not been able to recover.

    Has anyone else also seen the same thing happen?
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  • Profile picture of the author rachs
    Panda not eat my unique content. Even he already fed and strong after eat a lot of fake bamboo in my niche.
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  • Profile picture of the author bettersocial
    Thanks for all the replies guys.

    This is something I'm finally (FINALLY!) waking up to now - SEO won't yield results until you stick to it, 10 hours a day. Quality sites will naturally outrank spam sites, and will linger in the top 10 much longer than thin, spammy sites.

    I guess my mentality has now changed from - "How much money can I make from this? How fast?" to "How can I create a site that can turn into a legitimate business which I can print on a business card?"

    This thought process has been quite revolutionary - at least for me - the thought that I now want a bunch of sites that I can show off on a business card. ReallyCoolAwesomeMotorScooterModelX898.com wasn't quite cutting it;
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    • Profile picture of the author timpears
      The posts I read in this thread seemed to all agree that Panda didn't change anything. I have not kept up with any of this and as I have not yet ranked any of my pages on page one of Google SERP, it is all Greek to me.

      Anyway, I was just reading something that stated that since Panda, the content is most of what gets you on the first page of Google, not the heavy use of back links. According to this report, it used to be 70%-30% and now is 30%-70%, back links to content.

      I have to wonder how Google determines what is good content as opposed to bad content. Not being able to write for cr*p, I can't say I know either. I wish I did. I wonder if I am going to have to start paying $15 to $20 per post for good content, instead of finding the most reasonable writer in the Warriors For Hire section and hoping they produce decent enough content. I will definitely be posting much less content if that is the case, at least until I start making some money.
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      Tim Pears

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  • Profile picture of the author Steadyon
    Originally Posted by timpears View Post

    The posts I read in this thread seemed to all agree that Panda didn't change anything. I have not kept up with any of this and as I have not yet ranked any of my pages on page one of Google SERP, it is all Greek to me.

    Anyway, I was just reading something that stated that since Panda, the content is most of what gets you on the first page of Google, not the heavy use of back links. According to this report, it used to be 70%-30% and now is 30%-70%, back links to content.

    I have to wonder how Google determines what is good content as opposed to bad content. Not being able to write for cr*p, I can't say I know either. I wish I did. I wonder if I am going to have to start paying $15 to $20 per post for good content, instead of finding the most reasonable writer in the Warriors For Hire section and hoping they produce decent enough content. I will definitely be posting much less content if that is the case, at least until I start making some money.

    I agree with everything you have said .

    I have a bunch of crap and spam all ready to add to my zero income sites :rolleyes:.
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  • Profile picture of the author umrbd
    Ah! don't you think their is already enough discussion on Panda? I think their is more than enough material on every aspect of panda. Yet, panda is not a mystery which can be explained in a paragraph. Panda is not for all sites actually it is actually not against websites it is against spam. Get rid of spam and you don't have to fear from anything. As we are working under the Google rules and regulations so for us spam can be anything which Google takes as spam
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  • Profile picture of the author housefan
    Didn't really affect me although I was a bit worried because there's a couple of sites on which we have articles from our website posted. But that's small scale anyway, and not a discussion about article directories... On-site development and good link-building and I haven't had problems yet.
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    How has Panda Changed Your SEO Strategy?
    It's made me realize that a lot of people are easily spooked by the latest forum/blog seo gossip.

    Nothing has changed,
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  • Profile picture of the author warrich
    Panda has done something to the World of SEO, it has decreased the value of links that come from link farms and social bookmarking sites and directories, But somehow every update does the same thing like improving search results and getting relevant content to the users.
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  • Profile picture of the author amoeba
    i am always very careful with my backlinks strategy for every site. and i practice all kind of link building tactics. from my experience in past 2 months, grey hat is back from exile after 6-9 months.
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