Overview: Overall Gist
The Panda algorithm got its name from one of the primary engineers who worked on it, and Penguin is likely to have come from the same place. Through a tweet from Matt Cutts, the head of the Google webspam team at the time, the webspam algorithm became known (officially) as the Penguin algorithm update. While Google has given the moniker Penguin algorithm, no one knows where the term comes from.
The Penguin update, first revealed on April 24, 2012, described as “massive.” Unlike prior algorithm changes, Penguin meant to punish rather than enhance search quality.
Penguin is the term given to Google’s latest algorithm. According to Search Engine Land, it initially affected roughly 3.1 percent of English-language search searches. Penguin designed to penalise websites that used questionable link exchanges, artificial connections, or relied on too many of the same anchor text links, among other things. Penguin is Google’s response to a prevalent black hat SEO tactic: exploiting links to manipulate search engine results. You might have felt the Penguin slap if you purchased connections from various questionable, low-quality link directories, link exchanges, and other sites.
Minor weather report: We pushed 1st Penguin algo data refresh an hour ago. Affects <0.1% of English searches. Context: http://t.co/ztJiMGMi
— Matt Cutts (@mattcutts) May 26, 2012
Update Sequels
Update 1.1
The algorithm’s goal was to control a variety of black hat spamming tactics and limit their efficacy.
Update 1.2
This was a data refresh as well. The significant difference here is that the updated version didn’t simply influence English search results; it also affected results in other languages.
Update 2.0
Penguin 2.0 was the first time the algorithm looked for evidence of link spam outside a website’s home page and top-level category pages. The upgrade impacted about 2.3 percent of English searches. Other languages impacted similarly.
Update 2.1
Another data refresh came with the Penguin 2.1 upgrade. An extra 1% of searches impacted. However, according to some private studies, the updated version of Penguin caused Penguin to crawl even deeper into websites in search of evidence of link spam.
Update 3.0
The Penguin 3.0 update was only a data refresh, although its number made it appear like a substantial algorithm overhaul. Its goal was to give web admins who had cleaned up their backlink profiles the ability to retrieve and penalize cheating websites overlooked by previous Penguin editions. Less than 1% of English search queries affected by the change.
Update 4.0
The most significant change with Penguin 4.0 was that Google’s spam-busting algorithm integrated into the main algorithm. That was significant since, in prior versions, webmasters who resolved webspam issues had to wait for a Penguin update to see their sites regain a respectable ranking. Webmasters who eradicated backlink spam experienced faster results with this update.
Algorithm Rolled Out: April 24, 2012
Algorithm Winners & Losers
Even though the new Google Penguin update may weeded out some black hat SEO websites and spam, it can nevertheless harm legitimate SEO tactics that have gotten skewed. A new infographic released to help you recover from the latest Google Penguin algorithm change that may provide some much-needed light on why your website has been punished.
More Insights
Soon after the Penguin algorithm released, webmasters and companies who had utilized deceptive link-building tactics or stuffed their backlink profiles with a large number of low-quality connections saw a drop in organic traffic and ranks. Some Penguin downgrades were partial, affecting only specific keyword groups that had been excessively spammed and highly optimized, such as major items and, in some cases, brand.
Winners
- Spotify.com
- Observer.com
- Nme.com
- Menshealth.com
- Slideshare.net
Losers
- Songlyrics.com
- Great-quotes.com
- Comcast.com
- Hotel-rates.com
- Free-games.net
How can I know whether I’ve been affected?
These human penalties might be the consequence of Google users reporting a website as spam, and it’s also possible that Google will manually monitor certain industries more than others. This filter may have harmed your website if your statistics show a decline in ranks or traffic on a date linked with a Penguin update.
Not all Penguin downgrades were site-wide – some were partial and only affected certain keyword groups that heavily spammed and over-optimized, such as key products and in some cases even brand.
Penguin’s impact can spread across domains, thus switching domains and redirecting traffic from the old to the new could result in more issues in the long run.
Algorithm Solution: Ways to implement or take to cope with Google algorithm guidelines
Now that you know more about Penguin and what it does, you might be wondering, “How can I make sure that all of the links heading to my site are good connections?” That is an excellent question. In the following areas, we’ll respond to your question.
- Choose Quality Over Quantity
- Check Your Anchor Text
- Don’t Buy Links
- Avoid the Use of Tools & build a healthy backlink profile
According to Meyers, Penguin updated twice and will be updated again shortly. As a result, connection quality and variety are more critical than ever. Because you’ve created appealing, helpful material, you’ll get “natural” links from several other high-quality websites.
Don’t put too much emphasis on obtaining links from other websites with the same anchor text. Using Google Webmaster Tools, look at where your links originate from and the anchor text links. At least 60% keyword diversification recommended. It’s a concern if you have 80 per cent of external sites linked to you with the same anchor text.