Danny Sullivan, Brett Tabke, Matt Cutts, and others have even discussed naming the child.

Google’s Update Unraveled – While each has provided ample reasoning for their proposed name, I find Brett’s reasoning most compelling, so I’ll use Jagger.

What does the Jagger Update really mean?

Matt Cutts has been providing regular “weather updates” on his blog. Based on my reading, experience with our clients, and Jagger’s content, it seems to be an effort to increase the proportion of relevant content in the Google SERPs by removing some spam.

Some of the most widely discussed elements include:

Hidden text, especially text that is hidden in CSS or DIV layers
Paid linking or reciprocal linking is considered outside of the “Google Quality Guidelines.”
Using internal links or anchor text as one’s sole source of optimization

For more commentary, try Search Engine Watch and WebmasterWorld, but keep in mind that this is all just speculation. Only Google has all the answers.

As for my take, I’ve investigated the impact Jagger has had on our clients so far, and what I’ve found definitely supports the commentary I’ve been reading.

Very few of our clients have seen any impact on their rankings as a result of this update. We have identified one or more of the above-mentioned techniques in use for those clients who have been affected. While we carefully screen clients’ programs to eliminate spam techniques, they sometimes slip through or are added after we initiate the program.

In one particular situation, a client participated in a link-building effort they believed would enhance their SEM campaign, not hinder it, and found it was quite the opposite when Jagger hit.

All that being said, the update isn’t over yet. So while we’ve certainly made it through the eye of the storm, the hurricane’s still a-blowin’. GoogleGuy, engineer at Google and frequent poster to WebmasterWorld, wants us to think about Jagger as three updates in one:

“I believe that our webspam team has taken a first pass through the Jagger1 feedback and acted on a majority of the spam reports. The quality team may wait until Jagger3 is visible somewhere before delving into the non-spam index feedback. If things stay on the same schedule (which I can’t promise, but I’ll keep you posted if I learn more), Jagger3 might be visible at one data center next week.

” So, should you panic? Not as long as you’re implementing best practice SEO techniques.

Notice that most of the methods listed above are considered “pamspamctices”. Internal linking and anchor text are not spam; overusing them or using them as the only method of optimization is certainly not a best practice.

If you’re an SEO, what do you tell your clients or the marketing director about a shift like this?

The answer’s easy. Suppose you’ve been following best practices and aren’t engaging in any spammy link practices, you’re probably fine.

If you’ve noticed a shift in your rankings and are sure that none of the above tactics are implemented in your program, it’s best to wait it out. Since the update isn’t complete yet, your site may revert to its previous state, including any significant gains in rankings.

If you or your clients ‘ rankings have fallen dramatically, ask them if they’re engaging in any of the practices listed above. If they are, it’s a good idea to remove the offending content, as the Jagger 3 update may pick up the change more quickly than standard indexing later.

Post excerpts from Jenny Halasz