Google confirmed on Tuesday that the recent changes in the search results that webmasters have noticed since late last week are not Penguin related. So then the next assumption many made was that it must be Panda.
While Google had previously confirmed the changes were Core related, many wondered if that meant it had to be Panda. But Gary Illyes from Google confirmed that while the changes are Core – and Panda is now part of that Core – that these specific fluctuations we have been seeing are NOT Panda.
@jenstar correct. The recent ranking fluctuations you noticed have absolutely nothing to do with panda or other animals
— Gary Illyes (@methode) January 13, 2016
He also confirmed that while Panda is now part of the Core, they haven’t updated the Panda part. There had been some confusion with some assuming that Panda being part of the core algo meant it was also real time, but that is not true.
@jenstar to be clear, panda IS part of the core algo, but we haven't updated the panda part. Not other animals.
— Gary Illyes (@methode) January 13, 2016
Note: He explained immediately after this tweet (and blamed fat fingers) that Not = Nor
So yes, there are definitely some changes in the search results going on, but they are part of the standard core changes we notice from time to time, but are actually happening on a near-daily basis.
The good news is that now everyone can analyze the changes they are seeing in the search results from a non-Panda, non-Penguin perspective.
Added: John Mueller also tweeted:
@WhitworthSEO @google @methode It was just a normal search update, no special animal involved. #unexciting
— John Mueller (@JohnMu) January 13, 2016
Jennifer Slegg
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Majidy says
Jennifer,
Thanks for the updates. Many SEOs quickly assumed and believed THAT it was Panda update. And in your previous post about core algo update, there were no signs of any animal update 🙂
I was also gonna update it as Panda but thought to wait for this week. Things are clear now. And traffic of the website I’m working has increased to 20% . What further steps should I take to retain it?
Thanks
Jennifer Slegg says
Now that people know it isn’t Panda/Penguin there is some more analysis coming out finally. It is just most people assume any major shakeup has to be one of those two animals, when there are a ton of other signals that go into the search results that can be just as impactful.