Web sites hit back at Google Panda page rank update

Web sites that have seen their page rankings plummet after Google updated its algorithm have hit back at the search giant.

Google Panda was rolled out on 11 April with the aim of returning search results from high-quality web sites and downgrading those relying heavily on search engine optimisation.

Analyst firm Searchmetrics listed the the web sites that were negatively and positively affected by the update. Although the firm was unable to give specifics on traffic impact, chief executive Horst Joepen said that the reduced visibility would be "very bad" for web site traffic.

Consumer reviews web site Review Centre saw the biggest drop in ranking and admitted that the change in Google's algorithm would have a dramatic impact on traffic.

"[Google Panda] affected Review Centre, and has resulted in a significant drop to our Google traffic," it was noted in the Review Centre blog.

"We saw our US traffic drop, and we knew it was only a matter of weeks until it reached the UK. It's too early to say precisely what kind of a drop we've seen in the UK, but it is likely to be on a par with what we've seen in the US."

The blog post also went on to add that Review Centre had "stayed on the right side of Google's guidelines, while at the same time we've witnessed so many others show a blatant disregard for them - and continue to perform well".

"It's also ironic that, although Google have deemed our content not fit for their organic SERPs, they're still happy to publish our review content within their own vertical search products," the firm added.

A number of technology web sites including Tech Radar, Reghardware, PC Advisor and IT ProPortal also saw their visibility on Google plummet.

Pocket Lint was the worst hit with visibility dropping by 98.72 per cent after the Panda upgrade took effect.

Stuart Miles, the founder of Pocket Lint, told The Guardian that he was puzzled as to why the site suffered so much by the change in algorithm.

"We put out all original content. I could understand it if we copied and pasted everyone else and were a massive aggregator of crap. But we don't and we aren't," he said.

"As a small publisher, we're always trying our best to bring good stories to the table."

EBay UK, the National Lottery and This is Money were all listed by Searchmetrics as seeing the credibility of their sites rise under the Panda update.