It’s just a Penguin people. Furry little animal….right? Just don’t piss him off, or he’ll turn into Rico (you’ll have to be a parent to understand).
For any SEO professional, Google Penguin updates are always a time to hold your breath, wait for the dust to settle and regroup. Here are some of the things we are finding about the latest Penguin update:
What are the effects of Penguin 2.0?
If you were hit by Penguin 1.0 and didn’t change your ways of marketing online, you are likely to have had a bigger hit by Penguin 2.0 which was launched at the end of May. Penguin 2.0 is taking a deeper look into black-hat SEO techniques and the content that is on your site. If you have been building low quality back links to your site or using content that is either copied from another site, does not provide useful information to your readers, or is stuffed with keywords you won’t be able to hide any longer.
Only the strong will survive. The new update is looking into every level of your site and your links. If you have strong, high quality back links, internal links and unique content that Google sees as being relevant and helpful in relation to the search term you are in good shape. This pleases the Google Gods.
Unfortunately, in the court of Google Search, if Google thinks you are guilty of using black-hat marketing techniques, you are guilty and you will be punished.
Search results are becoming more direct. You will see local results and website home pages, along with relevant blog posts and pages deeper in the site that Google sees has having more helpful content in relation to what you are searching for.
Penguin 2.0 is pushing us in the SEO biz back to the basics; writing solid content and hand picking the back links that we want to have on our side. Social Media Marketing has also come in as a heavy hitter. Google likes to see that you are involved with your customers and that they are giving positive feedback about your business. It’s all about credibility. The more credible sources endorsing you, through back links, reviews and social interactions, the better off you will be.
This is not just a phase so do your research and make sure that Google stays on your side. This Penguin is here to stay and it’s watching every move you make.
Stephan Boehringer is the CEO of Get The Clicks, a web marketing company. Stephan has over 20 years of experience in the field of web marketing, and has been a speaker and consultant for many years. Stephan is passionate about web marketing and helping their clients be the best they can be.
Stephan Boehringer graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services.
