Google Panda 4.0 release is official! According to Search Engine Land. Google has rolled out a new and improved update to the Panda algorithm: Panda version 4.0. After a lot of speculation amongst SEOs, Google’s Matt Cutts announced the release on Twitter.

The new Google updates thrown our way definitely affect search engine optimization. The launch of Panda 4.0 accompanied by Payday Loan 2.0  marks breaking news in the industry and a shocking change for eBay as well. Here's what I know thus far…about the changes implemented. 

Panda 4.0 and its affects on You

Algorithm updates almost always mean a shift in search engine rankings. According to Search Engine Land, ‘”Google’s Panda algorithm is designed to prevent sites with poor quality content from working their way into Google’s top search results.”  These updates are sure to give webmasters a headache as they check on the damage (if any) and initiate damage control countermeasures. 

According to SEO Moz, it’s “major… which probably means that it is both an algorithmic update and a data refresh.”  The release of the 4.0 update appears to be more notable than previous changes.

Search Engine Watch released an article that held promising news for webmasters. The article quotes Marie Haynes of HIS Web Marketing as saying, “I think it’s too early to say what this new iteration of Panda is affecting, but I can tell you that in the case of the site that I saw big improvements on, no cleanup work had been done at all.”

Therefore, if you’ve taken our repeated advice to keep your content high quality, fresh and engaging, you’re likely to see SERP improvements as the full impact of 4.0 is felt over the next few days. This is not to say that a negative impact hasn’t been felt. We’ll get to that in just a minute.

What Does It All Mean For You?

It’s too soon to tell. Currently, there is a great deal of speculation surrounding these updates and their overall impact. If you’ve been around for previous algorithm releases or updates, then you know it’s time to batten down your hatches, weather the release storm and assess the damage as it appears. Search Engine Watch is even venturing the prediction that we are likely to see a Google Penguin update in the near future as Penguin 2.0 launched one year ago this week. 

The good news is that for those who have focused on high quality, well written content while keeping their audience firmly in focus, not much appears to have changed. And with Google focusing so heavily on quality content as a rank increaser, it doesn’t look like it’s going to change anytime soon. If you’ve invested in high quality content, keep up the good work – you’re on the right track. If not, it’s time to dig into just what awesome, quality copy is and how to attain it.