Following its major webspam algorithm shift on Tuesday, Google's Matt Cutts tweeted about a Panda update that came last week.

On Tuesday, Google announced a major shift in its search algorithm that targeted websites that exploit SEO. While the web was swirling with details of the update, Google’s Matt Cutts Tweeted that there was another Panda algorithm update on April 19.

The Panda update, likely 3.5, was another data refresh. Google has rolled out a series of changes in 2012 to keep its index updated. While none of the Panda updates have been particularly major, the frequent refreshes have kept businesses on their toes and mandated that sites continously focus on high-quality content marketing.

Tuesday’s webspam algorithm represents the first major change in search ranking from Google in 2012, though it focuses on the company’s longstanding principle of promoting sites that offer value to users.

According to Cutts’ Twitter account, Google avoided publicizing last week’s Panda update. No reason is clear, but the roll out of this week’s new algorithm likely prevented the company from announcing two algorithm updates in such a short window.

The general idea of most algorithm updates in the last 14 months, since the first Panda roll out, has been improving Google’s delivery of quality content in search. At the time of Tuesday’s algorithm shift, Brafton reported that Google hinted websites with linking schemes and keyword oversaturation may see their traffic drop as a result of a lower search standing.

Joe Meloni is Brafton's former Executive News and Content Writer. He studied journalism at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has written for a number of print and web-based publications.