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How To Comply With The Panda Algorithm Update 4.1

Produced by:

Don’t worry! NO panda pics,

we promise.

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Panda 4.1 prescription for success.Think of Panda as a beast of a search algorithm.

Always lurking in the background waiting for your SEO consultant to go against SEO best practices and Google’s guidelines.

Or even worse, Panda could hit your site with a penalty EVEN if you stick to protocol.

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Thanks to Josh Bachynski from TheMoralConcept.net, a complete list of Google’s Do’s and Don’ts for Panda 4.1

is only a click away.

It’s a LONG list and if you have the time and gumption, you can check the entire list here.

If you just want some of the highlights, please continue reading.

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What can I do to deal with fixing website issues caused by Panda 4.1?

If you’ve Google’d “What to do when hit by Panda?” (is that irony?), you’ve likely come across more questions than answers.

We’ve got ANSWERS. Let’s Get Started!

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FACTORS THAT SHOW HIGH QUALITY

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Remember all the talk about “Social Signals” a few years ago?

Turns out they are for REAL.

• Shares, Mentions, ReTweets, RePins, Double Taps, Likes, and Clicks

1. Social Engagement

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Quality Content + Social Media Shows You’re Relevant

Producing quality content hosted on your website (blog/landing pages)

+ Content that is being shared and amplified on social media platforms

=A very positive signal to Google.

It shows search engines that your content is relevant and has the quality worth sharing on social media.

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Stimulate user generated reviews on Google verifiable sources like:• Trip Advisor• Foursquare/Swarm• Yelp

This creates “Social Proof” through User Generated Content (UGC).

2. Positive Reviews on Independent Sites Verifiable by Google

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Encouraging customer reviews is ESSENTIAL for any restaurant, hotel, or attraction’s

social media and content marketing strategy.

Help your SEO: by showing Google and other search engines

that your business is awesome.

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The website footer is a global element (meaning it’s shown on every single page of your website)

To help with rankings include:• company name• address• phone number• email address• social profiles

Google views this as a sign of stability.

3. Company Address & Contact Information on Every Page

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Pro Tip: Consistency.

Check all citations across the web.

Your company name should be spelled and formatted the same on every website and social media profile.

examples: (123) 456-7890 or 123.456.7890St. or StreetAve. Av. or Avenue

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Google spiders check the copyright text on your page.

“Copyright © [your company name] [current year]” is one of the ways Google can test to see

how current your site is.

© keyboard shortcut: mac: “alt” g | windows: “alt” 0169

4. Accurate Date Information on Every Page, Including Copyright

©©©

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Panda will also look at the date stamp on your blog articles.

If you have a “Last Updated” area on your site with an associated date, be sure that date is always changed each

time you make a website update.

Pro Tip: Make Updates Regularly.

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Have an e-commerce website?Try it out today just for kicks. Make sure your shopping cart loads.

The Panda algorithm checks to see if you have an e-commerce site and if it finds you do, it will likely test your shopping cart to ensure it loads.

Your webmaster or SEO consultant should regularly test the shopping cart for efficiency and ease of use.

5. When Was The Last Time You Tested Your Shopping Cart?

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FACTORS THAT SHOW LOW QUALITY

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Old School “Black-Hat” SEO Tactics

Examples include: using your primary keyword for a particular webpage, and “stuffing” that keyword/phrase in the:

page title, url, header tags, link title tags, image alt/title tags, and the meta description.

1. Aggressive Keyword “Stuffing”

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Pro Tip: Hire an SEO company that refuses to practice old school “black-hat” and keyword stuffing SEO tactics.

Creating quality content, that solves problems for users and is written for the user (not the search

engine), is the best SEO practice, you can practice.

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Page Title is a Key Item. Google will read that page title!It should be unique and descriptive to the content featured on that particular page.

Same with Meta Description. While we know it’s not a ranking factor, it is a Huge relevancy factor!

2. Lazy SEO Tactics Like Duplicating Metadata

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Pro Tip: Understand your marketing personas and get in the minds of what the user is typing into the search engine.

This will help you score clicks and website traffic.

After all, what you put in the search bar gets bolded in the meta description for all the pages that show up in the search results (SERPs).

This means that when scrolling through the listings, the user will be drawn to your listing featuring the words he/she searched for,

bolded below your linked page title.

Be sure your SEO company is using unique and descriptive page titles and meta descriptions.

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“Think of what the user types into the search box as a question, then create quality content and publish it on an optimized landing page, which should easily provide the best answer to the user’s search query”

-Vee PopatFounder & Chief Strategist

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Download this Slideshare as a PDF

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Huge factor for a Panda 4.1 penalty.Don’t try to game the search system by creating similar websites/landing pages with similar “optimized” content and linking back to one “main” website, because you will get hit with Panda sooner than later.

3. Duplicate Content & Cloned Websites

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If you’re penalized, DON’T try to move that site to a new domain and redirect all those urls.

WHY? If you attempt to redirect urls from a penalized website, to a new domain, you’ll likely get hit with the same penalty from

your old domain.

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4. Your Main Content is Below The Fold

Each page should have a specific purpose for the user. Main content (the action you want the user to take) should be above the fold!Google’s spiders and the Panda 4.1 police will rank your site higher if the content is easily found and accessible by users.

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Above the fold for Web Design

What the user can see on their screen before scrolling.

THE POINT IS: Optimize your page for both search engines AND users. Give the user the answer they came searching for in the quickest, most efficient way possible.

.

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5. Page Load Time

Loading...Page speed is a Google ranking factor. Users want speed!• If your website takes longer than 1-3 seconds to load...• If you’re downloads take longer than 20 seconds to complete...

You could be hit with a penalty.

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Pro Tip: Any user dissatisfaction could have your site under fire from Panda 4.1.

Significant ranking factors are:

Each affect how users consume the content on your site.

• User Experience (UX)• The User Interface (UI)• User Satisfaction

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The Wrap

The Panda algorithm and its latest incarnation Panda 4.1, is always lurking around the internet. It’s always patrolling for sites that provide a low quality experience for the user.

Social sharing, increased engagement, positive reviews on popular third-party websites, a seamless e-commerce experience, and updated information are

all positive signs of high quality content to Google’s algorithms.

Lazy, incomplete SEO, slow page load time, duplicate content, and poor content layout are just some factors of low quality websites.

Other factors that try to manipulate or “fool” Google, all point to a low quality, “spammy” type website.

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Contact Us Now!

If you’re questioning the state of your website optimization or the strength of your current SEO strategy, I’d recommend a complete Website Marketing and SEO Audit be executed on your site, more sooner than later.

Get in touch and let’s start the conversation.

We look forward to helping you ignite your SEO Strategy and Website Marketing.

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1 St. Paul Street, Unit A304St. Catharines, ON, L2R 7L2

Canada

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