Google Panda 3.9 Update Released, Are You Keeping Calm?

Here’s the sweetest breaking news today for webmasters and site owners out there:

Google is all set to open up the vaults again and install Panda 3.9 updates to the algorithm. The schedule says “later tonight”, the 24^th of July as revealed by an official tweet.  In this time of writing, the update is currently happening.

The Panda update was officially rolled out last in February of 2011 and Google has been incrementally refreshing its search algorithms as supplements to the initial update done last year. The SEO community has been counting tabs and now we’re on the 3.9 refresh.

Sentiments Vary

We’ve got our finger on the pulse of the web developers and the SEO community as a whole regarding this statement released by Google. 

New data refresh of Panda starts rolling out tonight. ~1% of search results change enough to notice. More context: goo.gl/huekf
— A Googler (@google) July 24, 2012

Tonight the web is silent. There’s nary a sound to be heard except for the occasional hush about the announcement which have already spread throughout the search communities and put everyone vigilant.

Many websites who have been hit by the previous Panda and Penguin algorithmic changes, who have suffered de-indexing and lower rankings as well as a deep dive of plunging traffic flow of website visitors. Businesses and livelihoods build for many years have been toppled over like a house of cards, completely demolished. Cries of foul rang all over the internet including the premise that Google is out to destroy the SEO industry.

History aside, many who’ve been hit decided to look for ways to build everything from the ground straight up of what’s left of their businesses and site rankings. Webmasters and site owners have done extensive research about the nature and the target to these lovable updates, adapting strategies and correcting previous mistakes they’ve deliberately or unknowingly did in the past.

So in this current snapshot, people are trying to get back their glory pre-update. Now, just a month after the last Panda update, not counting the Penguin updates, we’re in for another wave again. Will it crumple the efforts people have done like paper? Or will it prove to be a reinforcing encouragement that websites are finally cut and shaped the way the search God want it?

“There’s a storm coming, Mr. Wayne.” The words of Selena in the movie The Dark Knight Rises reminds me of the calm this evening. Is it the kind of calm at the beginning of a storm?