Google’s 2011 algorithm update aimed at reducing the visibility of content-farm material was called Panda. Google first announced the change in February 2011, initially affecting searches in the United States and targeting websites with large amounts of shallow, copied, or low-value content.
Content farms commonly produced many articles designed to attract search traffic and advertising revenue, often with limited original reporting or expertise. Panda evaluated broader site-quality signals, so its impact could affect an entire domain rather than only one page. Google later expanded the update internationally and incorporated it into its ongoing ranking systems.
Panda is often confused with Penguin and Hummingbird. Penguin, introduced in 2012, focused primarily on webspam involving manipulative links. Hummingbird, introduced in 2013, improved Google’s interpretation of search queries. RankBrain came later and used machine learning to help interpret unfamiliar searches, so it is not the name of the 2011 content-quality update.