On April 24, 2012 Google unleashed its Penguin Update to its search algorithm. For those of us who specialize in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) the anoucement was meet with a combination of anticipation and horror, depending on how a clients website was managed and how it gained its page rank.
For SEO’s who have been overwhelmed by calls or emails from their clients or prospective clients, who’s rank has dropped, I recommend having them read a article aimed at non SEO’s that discusses the Penguin Update. Ian Lurie, at Portant, wrote a basic article on Google’s Penguin Update for non SEO’s that is brief and to the point. I’ve shared with a few non SEO’s who wanted to know more about what’s happening in the SEO world and they all found it easy to read and understandable. In the article Ian outlines:
What the Google Penguin update did
- Penguin appears to target artificial link acquisition or ‘link spam’
What web spam involves
- A link scheme where pages are built exclusively for the sake of cross-linking, disregarding the quality of the links or its sources
- Link building intended to manipulate page rank artificially through link farms, splogs (fake blogs) and other means
Penguin seems to have devalued
- Links from sites that were deemed low quality
- Links that were purchases
- Links coming from a large percentage of blog comments
- Links coming from link wheels and link farms
- Links from directories with no standards
How to see if you site has been hit by Penguin
- If your organic traffic dropped around April 24, 2012 from Google
- If you received a warning email through WebMaster Tools of unnatural links
Ian also points readers to a number of articles that discuss the Penguin update, resutls and how websites can recover. It is a great article where any non SEO can easily understand how Penguin could affect their website.
If you have questions about SEO, how your website ranks or how your site could be optimized for better search results with Google contact Patina Marketing to discuss how we can help you build a Internet Marketing Strategy for your business at 805-380-5494.
