Google Penguin: More Good than Bad?

Violators Of Guidelines

With Google Penguin, Google hopes to get a handle on violators of its Webmaster Guidelines. The aim is to decrease search engine rankings of individual websites that abuse regulations by duplicating content, using keyword stuffing, or participating in link schemes and cloaking that have the potential to enhance rankings. These methods are referred to as “black-hat” SEO techniques. Many small to medium sized businesses have been dramatically affected by the update. The first update went live this year on April 24th. The following month, Google updated the algorithm with Penguin 1.1. The latest version would allegedly affect less than one-tenth of a percent of English web searches.

Keyword Stuffing Content

Over-optimization of SEO articles is a common practice. The sole purpose of these articles is to hit high in search engines and it’s not unusual to use any method such as keyword stuffing in order to succeed. Google wants to “level the playing field” and its main focus with the Penguin update is on web spam that is frequently generated through over wrought, SEO content and material that can flood the typical search.

The one type of material that can look to be hurt by Penguin is content produced by non-English writers which can be extremely low quality, over optimized, difficult to read and filled with duplicated keywords, synonym free content.

Links: Natural and Unnatural

Links are vital; they help us find what we need. On the opposite end, it helps businesses lead us where they want you to go. Without links, the Internet is no more than a stack of papers without any method for streamlining and accessing information. Google wants to guide you to the logical next step in the search for information. Penguin will technically look for building links that are based on satisfying results, not manipulation. Manipulation is essentially building links to take you where someone else wants you to go, which can often have no relevance to your initial search.

Avoid Low Quality Links

Natural links was the original idea behind Google. Through links, a subject was deemed worth ranking, allowing the user to link to it naturally. Yet, in a bid to outrank everything else, ways were to found to fill material with not just natural links, but an increasing number of spammy, or unnatural, links.

Avoid Paid Link

Google Penguin isn’t necessarily used to block anything. It wants to wean out unnatural links like paid links using keywords as anchor text; comment spam; guests posts used solely to get a link back to one’s own site; and, lastly, links flagged for malware, spam issues and sites that focus on porn or drugs.

Poor Quality

At the end of the day, Google Penguin will have a prominent effect on exact-match domain usage, or rather, overuse; both inbound and outbound use of keyword stuffing; extremely aggressive exact-match anchor text links and, of course, duplicate content, poor quality SEO material and blog spamming.

What Now?

Google Penguin is increasing the value of strong links and pruning the weak and unwanted to produce top notch and better analysed content to give the user better SERPs. This is a good thing and actually won’t disturb the traffic of anyone that’s providing legitimate SEO material in the first place.

Warranted Concern

Not surprisingly, a number of businesses are unhappy. Content writers are concerned as well, but there is no need to panic. Placing effectiveness and quality above links and cheap production is more crucial than ever and will probably need to be with each subsequent release that strengthens a search engine’s ability to differentiate material.

There are still plenty of active tools to be found that can be used for the benefit of correct and original optimized material. They provide Internet marketing solutions with dedicated staff promoting quality content. Seek them out and Google’s Penguin will not affect your production in the least.

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