Google Unleashes The Zebra

Have you felt changes with your Google rankings lately? You’re not alone. SEO communities are flooded with reports on SERP fluctuation and drastic declines in keyword ranking.

Starting January 17 2013, technically just a week from today, U.K and other parts of the world cried foul about the heavy fluctuation their sites are experiencing – as if something big had been unleashed and is rapidly hitting numerous sites on its way.

We didn’t start feeling its weight until earlier this morning, when we saw some of our client’s ranking cascading down the SERP’s and following the general global trend. The downward plunge was so alarming – from the top 50’s to rank 200+ – that we can’t think of other reason but that Google must have tweaked something.

The next algo-change in SEO

Since last year after the onslaught of Panda and Penguin, webmasters and SEO folks had been anticipating the next big move Google will make. What will that new algo-bomb target and how will the SEO look after its wake?

Even before knowing what Google’s algo-update will affect or when it will take effect, people in the SEO world already reached a consensus branding the anticipated change as “Zebra”.

And there’s a big probability that Google have already released “it” in the “wild”.

Some webmasters point fingers at the EMD update; some at the Panda or Penguin. But with the wide-spread reports on ranking loss – not just on some countries, mind you – it isn’t that hard to believe Google Zebra’s now on the loose wreaking changes in the SEO landscape.

Barry Schwartz of Search Engine Roundtable said in a blogpost that Google told him there weren’t any updates rolled out recently that can account for such fluctuations.

Apparently, Google guys are also at a lost of what’s happening and why drastic drops took place. They can’t pinpoint the culprit but they said that Panda doesn’t have anything to do with it.

Then why the sudden wide scale keyword ranking losses? If Google’s innocent as they say they are, then it must mean the guys from there are losing their bearings.

Posted in: google upadtes , google zebra upadate , seo , seo google , update , zebra update