Penguin 2.0 update by Google

So all we keep hearing at the moment is Penguin this and Penguin that!

So what is all the fuss about? Are Penguin`s taking over the world? Well it may seem like it if you are trying to run a business and all of a sudden your website has disappeared from page 1 of Google!

What exactly is Penguin 2.0?
It is the latest update by Google to it`s algorithms (the method Google uses to index and rank web pages) and this latest update has affected many online businesses, many have seen a decrease in traffic and seen their website disappear down the search rankings like a furry black and white creature being dropped from a multi-storey car park!Image of Penguin relaxing

Basically what Google are trying to do is penalise those who have used `Black Hat` techniques in the past to try to trick their way to the top of page 1 and to reward the genuine websites that offer creative, decent and relevant information on their web pages. So those that have tried the now ancient art of buying links, adding white text full of keywords to a white background and so on I`m afraid their days are numbered!

So in plain English how is this going to affect you?
I will be honest here…there are so many opinions on SEO by many `experts` and agencies out there that this is just my take on what Google want to see.

To start with don`t panic! Google is actually on your side and if you are creating good content, that is not duplicated, not over-optimised then Google is your friend!

As long as you are not trying to spam the search engine giant and trying to be clever then you should be okay. Forget about trying to get as many links back to your website now, it is more about quality of links rather than the quantity. My advice is to let it all happen naturally rather than trying to force the issue.

It used to be all about Links, Keywords, Title Tags and Descriptions…

These days Google…

  1. Look for quality links to your site from authorative and relevant websites rather than the quantity of links
  2. Google doesn`t even take any notice of the Keyword Meta Tags these days
  3. The Title Tags used to be very important, in my opinion they still play a part but are not so important and don`t need to be over engineered for Google
  4. The Meta Description Tag is losing it`s importance too, probably still worth doing but again don`t go overboard on the optimisation

What can you do if your site has been affected?

  • First of all check your backlinks so you can see just how many links your site has and where they are coming from, a good simple free tool to use can be found at backlinkwatch.com.
  • Make sure your content is unique, interesting and relevant. If it helps visitors to your site then great as it will see your content getting shared and liked
  • Your site needs to be natural, read the content and make sure it makes sense, if it sounds spammy then you need to rewrite it in English for your visitors and not the search engines!
  • Look to become the authority in your industry by creating helpful and useful information, this is exactly what Google are looking for
  • Increase your efforts with your social media as this now plays an important part in building a social footprint that Google are looking for around your site. A good established Facebook Page, Twitter profile and of course Google+ profile will help enormously now.

image of a penguinThis is just the tip of the iceberg I`m afraid and is just the basics but my tip would be to create natural content, Blog consistently and use that as your focus for your social media efforts too. I cannot stress enough how much useful and original content is and how Google will reward you for producing good content.

Blog correctly and you will be producing fresh, relevant and helpful content and along with all your other social media efforts this will see your web pages rise up the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).

I hope you have found this useful but if you need any further help please get in touch and if I can`t help you I know a man who can!

Until next time, be good

Martin