Google’s Penguin 1.0 update appeared on April 24, 2012. It was the first in a series of updates that continued into 2014 with Penguin 3.0—the sixth Penguin update—which released on Friday, October 17, and continued to roll out over the next several weeks. All Penguin updates have targeted spammy aspects of sites, focusing primarily on sites with weak backlink profiles. Understanding the Penguin updates is critical to maintaining your presence on the world’s most popular search engine.
The Power of Backlinks
Penguin 1.0 affected about 3.1 percent of all English-language search queries, the most of any Penguin update. Estimated to affect about 1 percent of all queries, Penguin 3.0 has had a surprisingly small impact compared to expectations. Penguin 3.0 appeared a full year after the previous update, Penguin 2.1. The waiting period between the two most recent updates proved particularly arduous for webmasters hit hard during Penguin 2.1—only after the release of Penguin 3.0 could they begin to judge the effectiveness of their improvement efforts following Penguin 2.1.
Because Penguin focuses on backlinks, updates are rolled out simultaneously in all versions of Google. Language does not play a major role in backlink assessment, so any site, regardless of country of origin or primary language, should have seen the effects, if any, from the release of Penguin 3.0. (Panda updates focus more on site content and other language-dependent aspects.)
A Penguin Refresh
According to Google, the Penguin 3.0 update was a “refresh.” In their definition, a refresh means that the algorithm was simply rerun, not altered with the addition of new signals or other changes. The refresh should improve rankings for sites that have performed effective link audits between Penguin updates and also punish sites that may have slipped through the cracks on previous occasions. The Penguin algorithm, Google has stated, is not part of the regular refresh of Google search results. The entire Google algorithm, including the separate Penguin component, must be rerun in order to refresh Penguin elements.
Some webmasters may see an indirect impact from the Penguin update. This can occur if your backlink structure depends on other sites that may have been hit by Penguin. In other words, if a formerly high-quality site that links to your own is penalized, you could end up the unintended casualty as your backlinks are devalued. The quality of your backlink community matters: No site is an island.
Link Auditing and the Threat of Black-Hat SEO
The best way to protect your site is to perform a comprehensive link audit on a regular basis, even if you haven’t noticed any significant negative effects from previous Penguin updates. The Penguin Penalty Checker Tool (http://reconsideration.org/) can compare fluctuations in your Google ranking alongside updates to Penguin—any correlation may suggest a potential problem. A thorough link audit is also important because of the growing potential for negative SEO. Negative SEO is the black-hat practice of intentionally creating weak backlink structures for your site, which can, without your knowledge, damage the reputation of your site.
To start the process of assessing Penguin 3.0’s impact on your site, first check to see if your site has changed in Google SERPs. If you’re affected, the most likely cause is a weak backlink structure. A full backlink audit, whether or not your site was affected, is the best regular check-up to make sure you avoid any direct penalties from Penguin releases. Once you’ve corrected any potential issues, you’ll have to wait until the next update or refresh to find out whether your efforts had a positive impact.
BlueLink Marketing LLC 