Updated January 13, 2023
Reading Time: 3 minutesReally Good News
Understanding the latest news on Google’s algorithm changes is a must for online marketers. Having your business live or die with them… not so much. SEOs are noticing more rollouts of the Penguin 3.0 update, and the results are mixed. In the post, we’ll explain what it means and why it’s really good news for those websites following quality guidelines.
Unnatural Link Profiles Hit Hard
The Penguin 3.0 update was released somewhere around October 17, 2014. We waited over a year for this algorithm modification. Penguin 2.0 — rolled out in May 2013 — hit websites with unnatural link profiles hard. The Penguin algo was on a mission to squelch sites who manipulated inbound links. Sadly, many digital marketing and SEO agencies haven’t learned their lesson. We still see offers where less-than-ethical agencies are peddling practices that are simply dangerous and potentially deadly for a website.
Ok, enough about 2.0. Let’s get to 3.0.
The Penguin 3.0 Update Keeps on Rolling
The Penguin 3.0 update is following Panda’s footsteps. Major changes to the Google algorithm tend to have this pattern:
• Guidelines are published in Webmaster Tools.
• Videos on various topics are released on YouTube, helping Webmasters understand how to implement the guidelines in the spirit they were designed.
• Google spokespersons speak at notable conferences, industry interviews or hangouts, sending out warning signals. There’s lots of industry speculation, chatter on forums and social media, and general hand wringing.
• Version 1.0 of a change is rolled out. There’s more pundit speculation, chatter on forums and social media, and general hand wringing.
• We wait a bit, then more videos and official statements are released. Google gets more pointed in their criticisms of Webmasters not following specific guidelines.
• Version 2.0 smacks those websites not heeding Google’s ever-increasing warnings. We White Hat SEOs cheer and celebrate.
• The algorithm morphs into a version that is actually a rolling update; it’s no longer a one-time event that filters throughout the web. It becomes a “regular” part of the software program.
Ok, enough of the background. Let’s get to the good news.
Potential for Faster Recovery
When Penguin 2.0 hit websites with unnatural or manipulated link profiles, their organic visibility plummeted. In order to recover, these sites would have to be re-evaluated. Only another Penguin release could dramatically improve rankings… that assumes the Webmasters cleaned up their offending link profile. Since the Penguin 3.o update is now ongoing, it means that websites previously hit can recovery more quickly. Conversely, websites who use online marketing best practices can become more visible in organic search. Again, this really good news for websites that:
- Naturally build links from other sites relevant to their business and industry
- Regularly monitor their link profile, removing or disavowing poor quality or spammy links
- Consistently publish quality content to anchor appropriate links
Are you seeing fluctuations in your website’s performance? Are you attributing them to the Penguin 3.0 update?
photo credit – top: Gilad Rom
photo credit – body: Christopher Michel