We have been waiting for a while as news of an update broke some time ago. But the update to Googles Panda Algorithm has only just been released this past weekend. Google have said that it will be a slow roll out and therefore it may be months until site owners see the effects of the update. Apparently the change will only currently affect 2-3% of English language queries.
The Panda algorithm was first introduced in February 2011. Panda is all about the content. If you have poor quality content, Google believes you should not be placed towards the top of the Search engine results. The types of sites that Google wishes to penalise are ones such as those with lots of ads, those on which content has not been updated for a long time or those which contain useless and irrelevant content. Panda affects the entire site or an entire section, rather than individual pages.
As updates happen, sites who previously escaped being penalised may this time be caught out. The update also works the other way and allows sites who were previously penalised can then be given a reprieve if they have changed their ways.
General advice for this update still has to be, keep your site updated with relevant, up to date content for an excellent user experience.
The last Panda update was on the 25th September 2014.