panda, penguin, hummingbird algo changes that impacted many large sites, explained in laymens' terms.

1. Major Google Algo
Changes Explained
Dr. Augustine Fou
October 2013
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Augustine Fou

2. In Layman’s Terms
“I’ve been asked by many clients about the Google algorithm
changes that have happened over the last few years. This is a
deliberately oversimplified explanation of what the major
changes consisted of. For a more detailed and technical
explanation, I will point you to my colleague, Glenn Gabe’s
blog and articles (see links below).”
-- Augustine Fou
http://www.hmtweb.com/marketing-blog/
http://searchenginewatch.com/author/2623/glenn-gabe
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Augustine Fou

3. Panda - 2011
“A major algorithm update hit sites hard,
affecting up to 12% of search results (a
number that came directly from Google).
Panda seemed to crack down on thin
content, content farms, sites with high
ad-to-content ratios, and a number of
other quality issues. Panda rolled out
over at least a couple of months, hitting
Europe in April 2011.”
Source: http://moz.com/google-algorithm-change
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Augustine Fou

4. Penguin - 2012
“After weeks of speculation about an
"Over-optimization penalty", Google
finally rolled out the "Webspam
Update", which was soon after dubbed
"Penguin." Penguin adjusted a number
of spam factors, including keyword
stuffing, and impacted an estimated
3.1% of English queries.”
Source: http://moz.com/google-algorithm-change
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Augustine Fou

5. Hummingbird - 2013
“Announced on September 26th, Google
suggested that the "Hummingbird" update
rolled out about a month earlier.
Hummingbird has been compared to
Caffeine, and seems to be a core algorithm
update that may power changes to
semantic search, [natural language
queries], and the Knowledge Graph for
months to come.”
Source: http://moz.com/google-algorithm-change
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Augustine Fou

6. Related Articles
Impact of Google Encrypted Search
By: Augustine Fou, October 2013
Google PLA vs Text Search
By: Augustine Fou, September 2013
Display Ad vs Search Benchmarks
By: Augustine Fou, August 2013
Benchmarking Organic Search vs Paid Search
By: Augustine Fou, August 2013
Mobile Search vs Display Benchmarks
By: Augustine Fou, July 2013
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Augustine Fou

7. Dr. Augustine Fou – Digital Consigliere
“I advise clients on optimizing advertising
across all channels. One main area of focus
is reducing ad waste due to fraud – fake
impressions, clicks, leads, and sales. Another
area is improving effectiveness. This is rooted
in an understanding of how search works.”
FORMER CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER, HCG (OMNICOM)
MCKINSEY CONSULTANT
CLIENT SIDE / AGENCY SIDE EXPERIENCE
PROFESSOR AND COLUMNIST
ENTREPRENEUR / SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
PHD MATERIALS SCIENCE (MIT '95) AT AGE 23
ClickZ Articles: http://bit.ly/augustine-fou-clickz
Slideshares: http://bit.ly/augustine-fou-slideshares
LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/augustinefou
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@acfou
Augustine Fou