Google Explains Google Panda’s Inclusion in the “Core” Algorithm

We recently reported that Google Panda is now a part of the Google’s “core” algorithm update.

It created a lot of buzz among SEO professionals and web masters because, honestly, no one really knows how the “core” algorithm works and what it is. Google has never revealed how exactly it works.

Furthermore, as Google Panda is now a part of the “core” algorithm update, we won’t be hearing a lot about it. This was also a chief reason why so many people started worrying about this news.

Now, thankfully, Google has released some sort of explanation for what it means to be a part of the “core” algorithm. Basically it means that Google Panda is now stable enough that it can work on its own and does not require major changes.

Andrey Lippatsev, a search quality senior strategist at Google, said in regard to what the “core” means:

“It is less about the functionality, which means it probably does not change that much over time, and it is more about how we perceive it, in the context of the algorithm. Do we still think this is an experimental thing, it is running for a while and we aren’t sure how long it will last? Or is it like PageRank, it is part of it, it will always be there, at least in the foreseeable future and then probably call it in certain context part of the core algorithm.”

He also used the analogy that’s used by Gary Illyes on Google+ to explain the question:

“I think this is really the worst takeaway of the past few days, but imagine an engine of the car. It used to be that there was no starter (starter engine), the driver had to go in front of the car and use some tools to start the engine. Today we have starters in any petrol engine. It’s integrated. It became more convenient, but nothing essentially changed.

For a user or even a webmaster it should not matter at all which components live where. It is really irrelevant, and that is why I think people should focus on these “interesting” things less.

The bottom line is that Google believes that Google Panda is now stable enough that it can work on its own. It does not require a lot of changes or tinkering, and therefore, it is now a part of the “core” algorithm.