Google Panda Updated Algorithms: Google Panda Updated Versions Till 2022
As many as 30+ updates have been made to the Google Panda updated algorithms from its initial launch in 2011, including the one now embedded into the core implementation of 2016, which is considered one of these updates. Some of these updates were just data refreshes rather than algorithmic changes. The following is a timeline listing these updates and the version numbers.
Google Panda Update Versions – Google Panda Algorithm Timeline Of Updates And Tweaks
Google Panda Algorithm Version: Panda 4.2 (#28) — July 17, 2015
Google announced a Panda Algorithm Update (most likely a Data Refresh), but it was unclear if the update would be fully implemented. It could take up to months. It needed to be clarified if there would be any significant algorithm changes.
Google Panda Update: Everything We Know About Panda 4.2 (The SEM Post)
Google Panda 4.2 Is Here (SEL)
Google Panda Updated Version: Panda 4.1 (#27) — September 23, 2014
Google had announced a significant Panda update that included an algorithmic component. The impact was estimated at 3 to 5% of affected queries. The exact timing of the rollout was unknown due to the slow pace.
Panda 4.1 — Google’s 27th Panda Update — Is Rolling Out (SEL)
Panda 4.1 Analysis and Findings – Affiliate Marketing, Keyword Stuffing, Security Warnings, and Deception Prevalent (GSQI)
Google Panda Algorithm Version: Panda 4.0 (#26) — May 19, 2014
Google confirmed that a Panda update had been released. It likely contained both an algorithm update as well as a data refresh. Officially, it affected 7.5% of English-language queries. Matt Cutts stated that it was implemented on 5/20, but our data strongly suggests that it started much earlier.
Google Begins Rolling Out Panda 4.0 Now (SEL)
Panda 4.0, Payday Loan 2.0 & eBay’s Very Bad Day (Moz)
Panda Recovery — July 18, 2013
Google confirmed that a Panda update had been released, though it needed to be clarified if this was one of the rolling updates of 10 days or something else. This implied that the update was algorithmic and could have “softened” previous Panda penalties.
Confirmed: Google Panda Update: The “Softer” Panda Algorithm (SER)
Google Panda Updated Algorithm: Panda #25 — March 14, 2013
Matt Cutts announced a Panda update at SMX West and suggested it would be the last update before Panda was integrated into the core algorithm. Although the exact date is unknown, MozCast data suggests it was between 3/13 and 3/14.
Google’s Final Manual Panda Refresh Here? #25 (SER)
Google Panda Update 25 Seems To Have Hit (SEL)
Google Panda Algorithm Version: Panda #24 — January 22, 2013
Google has announced its first official update for 2013, which affected 1.2% of all queries. This was separate from the rumors of an update on 1/17 or 1/18 (which Google didn’t confirm).
Google Announces 24th Panda Refresh; Not Related To January 17th (SER)
Google Panda Update Version #24; 1.2% Of Search Queries Impacted (SEL)
Google Panda Updated Version: Panda #23 — December 21, 2012
Google released another Panda update right before Christmas. Officially, they called it a “refresh,” which impacted 1.3% of English queries. This had a slightly greater impact than Pandas #21 and #22.
Confirmed: A Panda Refresh, Version #23 (SER)
Google Panda Updated Algorithm: Panda #22 — November 21, 2012
Google confirmed the 22nd Panda Update after some mixed signals. It appears that it was data-only. This update came just a few days after a larger but unnamed update released around November 19.
Official Google Panda #22 Update: November 21 (SER)
Confirmed: Google Panda Refresh #22 On November 21st; 0.8% Of Queries Impacted (SEL)
Google Panda Algorithm Version: Panda #21 — November 5, 2012
Google’s 21st Panda update was released approximately five and a half weeks after Panda #20. The update was minor and officially affected 1.1% of English queries.
Google Releases Panda Update 21, Impacts 1.1% Of US Queries In English (SEL)
Official: Google Panda Refresh On November 5th (Version 21) (SER)
Google Panda Updated Version: Panda #20 — September 27, 2012
Officially, 2.4% of queries were affected by the Panda update (algo + Data) that was rolled out over the EMD update. Industry sources decided to rename Panda updates in order because the 3.X series was becoming more complex (this was the 20th).
20th Google Panda Algorithm Update: Fairly Major (SER)
How Do You Know If Google Panda Or EMD Hurt Your Site? (SER)
Google Panda Updated Algorithm: Panda 3.9.2 (#19) — September 18, 2012
Google released another Panda update, which seems to have been data-only. Ranking flux was moderate but not as large-scale as an algorithm update.
Google Rolls Out Panda 3.9.2 Refresh (SER)
Panda Update 3.92 Rolling Out (Or Is It Panda 20 Time?) (SEL)
Google Panda Algorithm Version: Panda 3.9.1 (#18) — August 20, 2012
Google released another Panda data update, but it had minimal impact. The Panda 3.0 series was running out of numbers at 3.9, so the new update was dubbed 3.9.1.
Confirmed: Google Panda 3.9.1 Update (SER)
Google Panda Refresh On August 19th: Version 3.9.1 (SEL)
Google Panda Updated Version: Panda 3.9 (#17) — July 24, 2012
Google launched a new Panda Update a month following Panda 3.8. Rankings fluctuated between 5-6 days. However, not one day was exceptional enough to be noticed. Google claims that only 1% of queries were impacted.
Official: Google Panda 3.9 Refresh (SER)
Google Panda Updated Algorithm: Panda 3.8 (#16) — June 25, 2012
Google launched another Panda data refresh. However, this seemed to be data only (no algorithm updates) and had a more negligible impact than Panda 3.7.
Official Google Panda Update Version 3.8 On June 25th (SEL)
Google Panda 3.8 Live: June 25th & Refresh Only (SER)
Google Panda Algorithm Version: Panda 3.7 (#15) — June 8, 2012
Google recently released another Panda update. This update claimed that less than 1% of queries had been affected. Ranking fluctuation data suggested that this Panda update had a significantly higher impact than the previous ones (3.5, 3.6).
Confirmed: Google Panda 3.7 Update (SER)
The Bigfoot Update (AKA Dr. Pete Goes Crazy) (Moz)
Google Panda Updated Version: Panda 3.6 (#14) — April 27, 2012
A mere week following Panda 3.5, Google rolled out additional Panda updates to its data. The google panda algorithm update’s consequences were unclear, and it was apparent it had a minor impact.
Confirmed: Panda Update 3.6 Happened On April 27th (SEL)
Google Panda Updated Algorithm: Panda 3.5 (#13) — April 19, 2012
In the middle of a hectic month for this algorithm, Google has quietly released an update to the Panda updates to its data. A variety of changes have caused the impact to be difficult to gauge; however, it appears that this was a regular update with minimal effect.
Google Mocks Me For Missing Panda 3.5 (SER)
Google Panda Algorithm Version: Panda 3.4 (#12) — March 23, 2012
Google released another Panda update for the second time on Twitter when the update was being released. Their public statements estimated that Panda 3.4 affected approximately 1.6 percent of results.
Google Says Panda 3.4 Is ‘Rolling Out Now’ (SEL)
Google Panda Updated Version: Panda 3.3 (#11) — February 27, 2012
Google released a second post-“flux” Panda update, which was deemed minor. This update came only 3 days after the anniversary of one year of Panda the name update, which is a record-breaking time for an update named.
Google Confirms Panda 3.3 Update (SEL)
Confirmed: Google Panda 3.3 (SER)
Google Panda Updated Algorithm: Panda 3.2 (#10) — January 18, 2012
Google confirmed the existence of a Panda information update, but they claimed that the algorithm had not changed. It wasn’t clear what the implications were for the “Panda Flux” strategy involving more frequent data updates.
Confirmed: Google Panda 3.2 Update (SEW)
Google Panda 3.2 Update Confirmed (SEL)
Google Panda Algorithm Version: Panda 3.1 (#9) — November 18, 2011
Following Panda 2.5, Google entered a period of “Panda Flux” when updates began to be more frequent and were comparatively small. Certain industry analysts described the update of 11/18 as 3.1; however, it was not officially 3.0. To help us understand this historical record, we’ll stop naming Panda updates except for significant modifications.
Google Panda 3.1 Update: 11/18 (SER)
Google Panda Updated Version: Panda "Flux" (#8) — October 5, 2011
Matt Cutts tweeted: “expect some Panda-related changes in the coming weeks” and provided an estimate of “~2 percent”. Additional minor Panda updates were made on 10/3, 10/13, and 11/18.
Taking a Closer Look at the Google’s Panda 2.5 “Flux” (SEL)
“Minor” Google Panda Update On November 18th (SEL)
Google Panda Updated Algorithm: Panda 2.5 (#7) — September 28, 2011
After more than a month, Google rolled out another Panda update. What was changed was unknown, but specific sites experienced large-scale losses.
Confirmed: Google Panda 2.5 Update Arrived This Week (SEL)
Google Panda 2.5: Losers Include Today Show, The Next Web; Winners Include YouTube, Fox News (SEL)
Google Panda Algorithm Version: Panda 2.4 (#6) — August 12, 2011
Google launched Panda worldwide for both English-language searches worldwide and non-English queries, except those for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Google stated that the change affected 6-9percent of questions from affected countries.
High-quality sites algorithm launched in additional languages (Google)
Google’s Panda Update Launches Internationally in Most Languages (SEL)
Google Panda Updated Version: Panda 2.3 (#5) — July 23, 2011
Webmaster chatter recommended suggested that Google release yet another update. It needed to be clarified if any new factors were added or if this was just an update to Panda information and ranking factors.
Official: Google Panda 2.3 Update Is Live (SEL)
A Holistic Look at Panda with Vanessa Fox (Stone Temple)
Google Panda Updated Algorithm: Panda 2.2 (#4) — June 21, 2011
Google kept updating Panda-affected sites and data. In the end, version 2.2 was officially recognized. Panda updates separately took place from the index and were not real-time, as was the case of the early Google Dance updates.
Official: Google Panda Update 2.2 Is Live (SEL)
Why Google Panda Is More of A Ranking Factor Than Algorithm Update (SEL)
Google Panda Algorithm Version: Panda 2.1 (#3) — May 9, 2011
Initially called “Panda 3.0”, Google seemed to be releasing another set of updates. The changes were not discussed in detail by Google and appeared to be small.
It’s Panda Update 2.1, Not Panda 3.0, Google Says (SEL)
Google Panda 3.0 (SERoundtable)
Google Panda Updated Version: Panda 2.0 (#2) — April 11, 2011
Google launched Google’s Panda Update to everyone who searches for English queries worldwide (not restricted to only English-speaking countries). The new signals were also integrated with data on sites users block using the SERPs themselves or via the Chrome browser.
High-quality sites algorithm goes global, incorporates user feedback (Google)
Panda 2.0: Google Rolls Out Panda Update Internationally & Incorporates Searcher Blocking Data (SEL)
Google Panda Updated Algorithm: Panda/Farmer (#1) — February 23, 2011
The major update to the algorithm struck websites with a hamper of up to 12 percent of results (an amount that comes straight via Google). Panda appeared to clamp down on thin content, such as sites with excessive ad-to-content ratios and various other issues related to quality. Panda launched in at most a few months before hitting Europe in April of 2011.
The ‘Panda’ That Hates Farms: A Q&A With Google’s Top Search Engineers (Wired)
Google’s Farmer/Panda Update: Analysis of Winners vs. Losers (Moz)
