Updated January 13, 2023
Reading Time: 2 minutesGoogle Search has undergone yet another algorithm change. Enter Penguin 2.0. Think of this flightless bird as a caped crusader that fights web spam (black and grey hatted SEOers). It targets negative White Hat SEO practices like bad inbound links coming from non-moderated blogs. Basically it means that sites that try to amass as many links as possible without regard to relevancy or quality will get penalized. Here’s a recap of Google Search’s newest iteration of Penguin:
- Estimated that 2.3% of English-US queries were affected
- Rolled out for other languages worldwide
- Targets advertorials that violate Google quality guidelines (especially those who don’t disclose paid relationships)
- Detection of hacked sites
- Better communication with and providing help to Webmasters (yeah!)
Key Take Away: Websites that create good content that users love, like to bookmark, and are inclined to share in Social Media are in alignment with Google’s mission. If you stay focused on this goal — remaining user centric — then you really don’t need to worry about getting demoted as Google Search continues to morph and evolve. That’s the beauty of White Hat SEO. It ain’t perfect, but it’s a sustainable, long-term strategy.
Google Search Penguin 2.0 from Matt Cutts
What to hear directly from Google’s Head of WebSpam? Matt Cutts released this 7-minute video to explain what lies ahead.
Did your website feel the effects of Penguin 2.0?
photo credit – top: JD Hancock
photo credit – body: Liam Quinn