Google brought in an early Christmas present in the form of yet another update to its algorithm.
This update – the 23rd in the Panda series impacted about 1.3% of English queries. The previous version impacted only 0.8% of English queries.
The Panda series commenced on February 24, 2011, and its introduction significantly changed the face of SEO.
You can see an overview of all Google’s Panda updates since introduction here.
Because search activity for many Business to Business (B2B) websites and some eCommerce stores tends to slow down during the Christmas New Year period, it may not be immediately obvious that your website has taken a hit.
However, if you have been undertaking any form of off-page SEO, it’s important to check your analytics regularly.
Some useful ways to check this during seasonal periods are:
- compare your website traffic against the traffic same period last year.
- check webmaster tools
- obtain a ranking report from your SEO provider.
Be aware that you need to look at all data in totality. Obviously, comparing traffic data may not be effective if you have only been undertaking SEO for a relatively short period.
In regards to the ranking report, be cautious if there are any sudden drops in rankings for all the keywords you are targeting. Small drops and gains over a week are generally quite normal but big drops of all keywords should serve as a red flag.
Feel free to contact us if you require help in analysing your data.