5 Tips to Making your Website Panda Proof
Has your website been affected by the Google Panda update? Remember, this change in the ranking algorithm isn’t a one-time thing. Even if your site wasn’t hit the first time, if you don’t take adequate care you may fall victim to the morphed version of this update.
How is it possible? Well, when Google launched its initial Panda update, back in 2011, its target was the content farms that churned out poor content for websites. The ranking of any site with duplicate content on its pages suffered.
But it wasn’t a one-time affair. With every update of the Google ranking algorithm, it is introduced in some form or other. The only difference is it doesn’t come with the same hue and cry. But it’s still out there.
What’s the objective of the Panda update? Its main aim was to distinguish the sites that really offered great user experience from the ones that didn’t. And to make sure that your website isn’t affected by it, you need to offer a great experience for users.
How do you make your website Panda proof? It’s not as big a challenge as it appears.
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Always remember, content is king
Google tried to weed out sites that have poor content aimed at SEO rankings alone. If it isn’t for the user, Google doesn’t want to consider it at all. This resulted in the sharp decline of rankings of many sites.
If you don’t want this to happen to your site, it is time to evaluate its content. Your first task is to check the bounce rate of its pages. You can do it easily from Google Analytics. With this, you’ll be able to see which pages engage users and which ones don’t.
Next, it’s time for a rigorous review. It’s best not to do it on your own. For the simple reason, it won’t be objective. Let someone else take a good look at the site and give you some honest feedback about its content.
Once, you have the review, you can start to do some changes, or may be start afresh.
Minor errors spell big trouble
If you think that a spelling error or a grammatical mistake on a web page isn’t much to bother about, you are mistaken. It is often the small things that lead to great trouble.
How does it matter? When it comes to creating great user experience, even the smallest mistake cannot be ignored. Any such sign of unprofessionalism leaves the visitors with a sense of distaste for your site. Something you simply cannot afford to do.
Cloaking in any form is a serious no-no
Be it a hidden link or a couple of redirects, any form of cloaking can affect the quality of your site’s content. And it makes your site susceptible to Panda update variants too.
Before you take any other step, check your site for any similar element –hidden links, hidden text, unnecessary redirects, doorway pages, and so on. And fix each one of these probable problems ahead of time.
Too much of boilerplate content isn’t good
Many websites have it – be it a legal disclaimer in the footer or a copyright policy in the header, it remains the same on all the pages of the site. But too much of such similar content won’t work well for Google.
You cannot get rid of certain portions of the boilerplate content. But you need to keep the content fresh too. Otherwise, it won’t result in good user experience. And Google Panda update will penalize your site too.
Content-ad imbalance may hurt your site’s rankings too
When a user visits your site, they come for the content. Not for the ads! If your site is filled with ads, and the user faces numerous pop-up ads continuously, it won’t be a great experience for them.
Keep in mind that the content remains the focal point on your website. And the ads don’t hamper its appeal. It’s true that you have to earn from your site too. But if it’s at the bottom of a Google search, it won’t be of any good to you at all.
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