Google Panda, launched in February 2011 is now officially part of Google’s core ranking algorithm. It is Google’s one of significant spam-fighting algorithms. The exact date for occurrence of this event is currently unclear.
In recent post of Panda Guide posted by Jennifer Slegg, which is also vetted by Google’s PR team included a statement regarding it, which stated that:
“Panda is an algorithm that’s applied to sites overall and has become one of our core ranking signals. It measures the quality of a site, which you can read more about in our guidelines. Panda allows Google to take quality into account and adjust ranking accordingly.”
The authenticity of this quote is also confirmed by Gary Illyes from Google. Garry Illyes also updated on Twitter that the Panda/Core update stuff is not real time. Even though there is no official record from Google stating when it actually happened as Google rarely confirms about core algorithm updates but sources estimate it to have happened in late 2015.
This update was revealed when webmasters started noticing signs of update and expected it to be the delayed Penguin update but later found out that it was this Panda bake into core.
We will keep posting as more news comes into light. So stay tuned!