A little over a year after its introduction, the Penguin algorithm was given a major update. As many have discovered, Penguin has had sweeping effects on the way Google deals with sites it considers to be trying to game the system with over-optimization.
Since Penguin first hit the servers, there have been two significant updates. However, both were largely tweaks or minor data refreshes. Penguin 4 introduces a major update to the core algorithm and delves much deeper into sites to detect spammy tactics.
If the versioning numbers confuse you, note this: Google revised the Penguin web spam program three times, labeling this update as Penguin 4. However, they call it Penguin 2.0 because it’s the first major algorithm revision.
Tactics once considered SEO best practices will now negatively affect a site’s ranking. If site owners previously took a gamble and used these tactics, they may have initially breathed a sigh of relief when Google didn’t seem to notice. However, the relief didn’t last.In the last few weeks, Google has cracked down and called in its markers. Many of those sites have likely taken a hit.
Spammy Backlink Profile
If you’ve engaged in some shady link-building in the past, and have a lot of low value incoming links from spammy sites, it might be a good idea to cut those ties.
Over-Optimized Anchor Text
In the natural course of things, incoming links are going to have a large variety of different anchor text. If 90% of the incoming links to your site use the same keywords in the anchor text, Google will likely assume those links weren’t built naturally over time based on the site’s content value.
A natural anchor text profile will contain lots of brand name anchor text, unrelated text, and some keywords.
Paid For Links
Buying and selling links that pass PageRank tops the list of tactics that demote a site in the SERPs.
Keyword Stuffing
If you’re still doing this, 2005 would like its SEO tactics back.
Cloaking
Google penalizes sites that use techniques like cloaking or sneaky redirects to show different content to Googlebot than visitors.
Related
Google Penguin Update and Its Impact on SEO – This article from BrightEdge explains the goals and effects of the Penguin update, emphasizing the importance of high-quality content and ethical SEO practices
Anchor Text Optimization: Avoiding Over-Optimization – A Moz resource that provides insights into balancing anchor text to prevent penalties from updates likw
Has your site taken a hit in the last few weeks? Or perhaps you’ve been using the techniques we’ve mentioned and seen no harm to your ranking at all. Feel free to discuss it in the comments below.
