A year ago, Google announced something that made the real journalists and publications on the internet cheer and sent shivers of fear down the spines of spammer and content farmers. The "Panda Update" was designed to take low-quality, "thin" content that is often found on sites like HuffPo and eHow and reduce the rankings (and therefore the traffic) that Google gave them.
Those who were unaffected rejoiced. Those who were hit cried fowl. Google went through several iterations and course corrections with some sites getting vindicated, but it hurt many beyond repair. Yahoo was one who was notably hit and had to shelve their Associated Content site.
This infographic from Search Engine Land explores the effects of the update as well as the various versions that have come in it's first year. The real question that needs to be asked, "Is the content Google serves now better than it was a year ago?"
Click to enlarge.
(Via: Search Engine Land. H/T: Automotive SEO)
