Demand Media Posts 4th Quarter Losses - Could Panda Be the Culprit???

by: iCopywriter Senior Editor, Heather Price-Wright

One company’s notable losses in the most recent fiscal quarter seem to indicate just how much Google’s Panda algorithm update is changing the content-creation and SEO landscape.

According to a Los Angeles Times report, Demand Media Inc., owner of sites like eHow, Cracked.com and Livestrong, posted losses of $6.4 million in the fourth quarter. That comes just over a year after a whopping $1 billion initial public offering and much positive Wall Street buzz. The company lost a total of $18.5 million in fiscal year 2011. Ouch.

Industry insiders speculate that Demand Media, whose business model is sometimes pejoratively referred to as “content farming,” suffered a great deal when Google’s newest algorithm update took effect. The Panda update emphasizes content quality and freshness, rather than simple keyword use - you've heard us say it before: the days of keyword "stuffing" are O.V.E.R.

As Search Engine Land’s Greg Sterling put it in the Los Angeles Times article, “Google felt that these content farms diluted the quality of its search results. So they tried to address that.”

And it seems to be working, if the Demand Media losses are any indication. While it might not be great news for that particular company, or those like it, the news reveals that Google is taking seriously its efforts to reward better, more relevant and more recent content in its search results. And as far as we’re concerned, that’s a good thing, both for Google users and for businesses hoping to improve their search rankings.

As the Panda algorithm and its effects on the Internet landscape are proving, content really is king these days. Many people believed that so-called content farms, while they were prolific, were producing just plain bad content - whether stale, irrelevant to the actual search or just plain poorly written. But that won’t cut it anymore.

Instead, it looks like businesses looking for better Google rankings in the new, Panda-ified space will need to opt for content creation that focuses on high-quality writing, relevance to top search terms and freshness. Lucky for you, you have us!

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