News & Insights

Google's Panda 4.2 Update: What You Need To Know

While hardly anyone noticed, Google began slowing rolling out Panda 4.2 at about the pace of…wait for it… a panda. The latest update comes 10 months after Panda 4.1 and the full rollout is reported to take months to complete. Google says it should only affect 2-3% of English search queries, which is a relatively small amount.

So why does this new update matter?

Like most of Google's search filter updates, this one is designed to reward quality content in the SERPs (search engine results page). So if you were penalized in the last Panda update for low quality content, now's your time to shine (assuming you've made the right changes). However, because Panda 4.2 is expected to take considerably longer than past updates, it may be a while before you see a significant increase or decrease in your Google traffic. All of this begs the question of what constitutes low quality content and how do you avoid it?

Here are a few suggestions:

  • Avoid "thin" content, which generally means little to no content
  • Avoid duplicate content (especially relevant on large sites)
  • Always make sure your content is updated to remain relevant
  • Avoid machine or auto-generated content including translations

These were just a few broad examples, but if you need further assistance in crafting a content strategy that speaks to your brand and searchers, then shoot us a message - we can help!