Google Payday Loan is a set of algorithm updates and data refreshes for the Google search engine initiated to help identify and penalize web sites that utilize search engine spam techniques (also known as spamdexing or Black Hat SEO) to improve their rankings for specific search queries that are considered “spammy” in nature.
Google launched the Google Payday Loan algorithm to filter out lower quality websites that were using a variety of spam techniques to boost their rankings for heavily trafficked search key word queries like “payday loans,” “Viagra,” “casinos” and various pornographic terms.
Google Payday Loan 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 Updates
Google rolled out the first Google Payday Loan algorithm on June 11, 2013, and it impacted approximately 0.3% of all Google search queries in the United States, according to Google. It affected more than 4% of all Turkish queries, where spammed search queries tend to be more prevalent.
Version 2.0 of the Payday Loans algorithm update debuted in May 2014, followed several weeks later by version 3.0. The 2.0 update focused more on targeting spammy web sites, while the Google Payday Loans 3.0 update focused more on addressing spammy queries.
How Does Google Payday Loans Differ from Other Google Algorithm Updates?
While Google Payday Loans updates share some similarities with several other algorithmic enhancement projects from Google, including Google Panda, Google Penguin and Google Hummingbird, each of these projects has an individual search engine improvement focus.
The Google Panda algorithm updates specifically focus on low quality or “thin” content web sites by downgrading them in the search results so that higher quality sites can receive more prominent results.
Google Penguin s primary purpose is in penalizing companies and web developers that deliberately attempt to “boost” their search engine rankings via manipulative SEO tactics.
The final project, Google Hummingbird, was initiated to deliver a completely new search algorithm for Google, as opposed to Google Payday Loans, Penguin and Panda updates, which all serve as updates for Google’s existing search algorithm engine.
Recommended Reading: How Web Search Engines Work and Five SEO Tips for Driving Search Engine Traffic
