Google Penguin
Google is one of the largest companies in the world and since they introduced their line of Android smart products they’ve gotten even stronger. Yet in still, the thing they are most well-known for is there phenomenal search engine which has become synonymous with searching for information. For this reason, everyone with a website wants to remain in good standings with Google but their new algorithm Penguin 2.o could leave a lot of webmasters out in the cold.
The Start of Penguin
Google first introduced Penguin on April 24 of last year as a means of eliminating the high ranking of websites that achieved it by utilizing “Black-Hat SEO Techniques. This is also known as Spamdexing when a webmaster intentionally manipulates a search engine’s indexes.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a legitimate method of increasing a website’s search engine ranking. It differs from Spamdexing because SEO concentrates on actually improving the website with engaging and interesting content. SEO content is relative to the websites purpose and not just there to increase a sites ranking.
The Line that Separates
Unfortunately, the line between legitimate SEO and Spamdexing can become blurred sometimes. Keywords are necessary for good SEO but the practice of keyword stuffing can be classified as Spamdexing. This is the reason Google needed to introduce a new algorithm, capable of tracking down sneaky violators of their webmaster guidelines.
Penguin replaced another Google algorithm which was known as Panda. Penguin 1.0 seemed to be far more effective as it punished 1% of all websites which were actually responsible for 80% of spam links. A month later, Google released Penguin 1.1 and the upgrade punished 1.1% of sites for 65% of spam links.
On October 5 2012, Penguin version 1.2 was released and it ironically punished 1.2% of all websites. These culprits were responsible for half of all spam links as webmasters began to realize there was a new tuxedo donning sheriff in town. Version 2.0 was introduced on May of 2013 and the Matt Cutts described it as the most talked about algorithm of the year.
Penguin Penalties
Wise webmasters would be wise to stay on the good side of the little flightless bird because violators could be removed from Google’s index. There are several steps a webmaster can take to keep their site from becoming the next target of Penguin 2.0. First off, sites with a lot of relevant, well written content are not targeted by Penguin. Adding more landing pages will also penguin-proof a site as will developing a site map. Dynamic and varied organic linking and enhanced social networking will also make the Penguin happy.
Following the new rules may drop a sites ranking but not following them could get a site removed altogether. Filling a site with real, quality content is the best way to avoid problems with an algorithm. People landing on the website will enjoy the informative content and it will increase the chance of them actually patronizing the company.
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