It seems like some folks missed it but in my May 2011 Google Webmaster Report I spoke about some webmasters and SEOs asking if Google was updating the Panda algorithm once more. Some were coining this update Panda 3.0 or 2.1.
There are many SEOs and Webmasters at WebmasterWorld discussing this update to Panda. Google did not confirm any Panda update but it seems like many webmasters are suggesting this is the 3rd major update to Panda.
The first one was Panda released in February and then the international rollout in April, where some SEOs saw incremental returns. And now, early May, webmasters and SEOs are saying Panda has shifted a bit.
One webmaster said:
Is it possible that Panda 3.0 just rolled out (as of May 6, 2011)? Perhaps it's in the process of rolling out? I'm seeing a massive shake up in the search niches that I monitor, results are bouncing all over the place. My websites seem to be slipping again to a new all time Google referral low.
In the ongoing WebmasterWorld thread, people are talking about two shifts to this Panda 3.0 update. Anyway, if you are seeing similar changes, you may want to check out the threads.
Our ongoing coverage and stories on the Content Farmer/Panda update:
- Google's Second Attempt At Panda Relief Advice
- Google's Panda Update Hopes To Curate An Apple-Like Web
- eHow Hit Hard By Google Panda Update
- Incremental Returns After Latest Google Panda Update
- Many Webmasters Devastated: Google Panda Rolled Out Worldwide
- Google Update Underway? Farmer/Panda Hits Again?
- Google Smacks Down Webmaster Over Panda Update
- Google Mocking Those Impacted By Farmer/Panda Update?
- Is Google Rolling Out A Farmer / Panda Update?
- Status Check: Google Panda / Farmer Rebounds & UK Migration
- Coming Soon: Panda/Farmer Update At Google UK
- Being Rescued From The Google Panda / Farmer Update
- When To Use 404, NoIndex & 301 Redirects In Farmer/Panda Fix
- 40% Of SEOs Say Farmer/Panda Hurt Their Sites In Google
- Google: Remove Low Quality Content If You Were Impacted By Farmer/Panda
- I'm Hit! Get Your Google Rankings Back After Farmer/Panda
- How to Regain Your Rankings After the Farmer Update
- SEOs Chew On Wired's Interview With Cutts & Singhal On Farmer Update
- What's Your Name? Farmer Or Panda?
- Was Google Too Hasty with the Farmer Update? SEO's Discuss Good & Bad
- Google Accidentally Label Your Site As A Content Farm? Get Help Here
- Shocking: Google To Tweak Content Farm Algorithm
- Poll: Were You Impacted By The Google Farmer Update?
- Google Farmer Update Support Groups
- Google's Farmer Update Live: 12% Of Google's Results Forever Changed
- Google Warns Of "Big Changes Here Very Shortly"
- Correction: Google's Scraper Algorithm Now Live, Not Content Farms
- Google's Content Farm Algorithm Harm You? Categorize Your Site To Fix It.
- Confirmed: Google's Content Farm Algorithm Live! Sites Are Dropping!
- Google's Next Target: Content Farms & On Page Spam
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
Update: This is official, well not the 3.0, but as Danny put it, Panda 2.1 with a very small update to the Panda algorithm released around this time.
