October is Month for Google Algorithm Changes
- October 17, 2012
- Bradley Taylor
October kicked off with back to back Google algorithm updates. As many of you know they have nicknamed their large rollouts “Penguin”. This month kicked off with a Penguin update and a bi-monthly 65 pack update. This update explains in detail what page quality is according to Google. They also rolled out an update to protect against spammy sites and sites that are overloaded with ads.
The updates always have the end user in mind. They want regular web surfers to get good quality content without being bombarded with spam or ads. So, basically if you build your site with the idea of delivering content or product to an end user then you have nothing to fear from Google algorithm updates.
Page Layout #2 — October 9, 2012
Google announced an update to its original page layout algorithm change back in January, which targeted pages with too many ads above the fold. It’s unclear whether this was an algorithm change or a Panda-style data refresh.
It’s “Top Heavy 2″ As Google Rolls Out Update To Its Page Layout Algorithm (SEL)
Penguin #3 — October 5, 2012
After suggesting the next Penguin update would be major, Google released a minor Penguin data update, impacting “0.3% of queries”. Penguin update numbering was rebooted, similar to Panda – this was the 3rd Penguin release.
Google Penguin Update 3 Released, Impacts 0.3% Of English-Language Queries (SEL)
Google Released 3rd Penguin Update: Not Jarring Or Jolting (SER)
August/September 65-Pack — October 4, 2012
Google published their monthly (bi-monthly?) list of search highlights. The 65 updates for August and September included 7-result SERPs, Knowledge Graph expansion, updates to how “page quality” is calculated, and changes to how local results are determined.
Search quality highlights: 65 changes for August and September (Google)
