Google values technology, not social science. – Paul Adams
Do we really need Google Panda?
I have two answers for this;
Yes and No.
Yes because we really need to weed out the reliable content over the spammy ones, if you look at it closely Google Panda is another set of guidelines to follow. Suddenly people are seeing their traffic floundering. It became a standard procedure to write “quality” content. Unfortunately Google did not elaborate on this and I have seen hundreds of websites that carries well written content and reliable information from trusted authors go down I think even as I write this piece these websites are still trying to figure out a way not to be penalized by Google.
Another fault of Google is that though it stipulates what-not-to-do it did not stipulate how-not-to-do-it or to-undo-it. It virtually left the job at the mercy of their algorithm to determine what is right and wrong, and as we see this happening the problem becomes more endemic because just like driving a car you are given a ticket but not really given the reason why you were given that ticket. Thus exacerbating the problem.
No, we don’t need Google Panda until such time that we get to find the proper safeguards and tools to prevent it from happening and no we don’t need it right now until it is perfect and people are well adjusted. I hate to admit it but Google is playing God when it didn’t consider the users point of view in going on with the algorithmic change. Google did not consider the number of businesses that will be hit, shady or not the innocent ones are the ones that suffers the most, simply because they have a single mistake which they weren’t informed of or even if they were in the case of an adsense infraction it is not that easy to clear the problem as I still have yet to find a single Google employee willing to help personally on the matter.
How do we build links after the Google Panda effect?
Google Panda in essence talks about creating links “naturally” but in the case of SEO time is always of the essence we can’t really wait all day long until someone recognizes that “hey this guys has good writing style” believe it or not there are more well known and better writers out there that has good and better write ups than yours, has good grammar and great delivery of thought so how can one who has a poor grasp of the English language, or who does not speak the language be able to compete with the ones who do?
The good thing about doing SEO before Google Panda is that it gave an equal footing to everyone whether you don’t have a good command of the English language but you have more topics to write about and more pages than other websites then chances are you get to be higher in the serp rankings. But not too fast kid Google Panda does not consider the number of pages you create for a single topic as a signal for relevance; right now even a simple “block” from the Google chrome browser could make your website a target for Google panda.
So what kind of link building, works? I still believe in the power of blog commenting, guest blogging and the other entire old school link building to create more juice for rankings. This brings us to the other question.
Is Directory Submission Dead?
Yes and no, yes if you are referring to the unpaid spammy looking ones but no if you are referring to the major paid ones. The major signals to look for in choosing well juiced directories are the Page Rank, age of the directory, and relevance of the directory, on another note I still don’t know how Google Panda treats directories if you have any idea please do tell me.
Is Article Marketing Dead?
Contrary to what Rand Fishkin said, Article Marketing is well and alive I mean what is so shady/spammy if you can deliberately create a ton of reliable content and submit them to reliable article websites? Indeed most of the websites targeted by Panda are article sites; still most of the top ranking keywords have their URL’s pointing to article sites other than article sites are like the DMOZ of directories. Whether Google likes it or not it is a necessary evil in the world of SEO.
Is forum profile linking Dead?
No – In my experience a do-follow forum link or even a profile link still works, (well as long as Google still considers it) so keep doing all your forum profile links and signatures.
What is the Future of Search?
I am looking towards the power of social signals like Facebook and twitter but most importantly of Google Plus, and the +1 button. Google Plus is still a very unfamiliar territory. Aside from being a complete rip-off of Facebook Google plus is still a competition in the world of social media specially when it is Google sponsored.
How much influence does Google Plus and Social Media have over search?
To say that social media and Google Plus is one of the main influencers of search results may sound as an understatement perhaps the better question should be how an SEO takes advantage of such. But I will leave that for another day to discuss.