At the end of August, 2014 Google search engine informed all website owners that a new algorithm would be released soon, which is called Penguin 3.0.
Let us review what kind of filter that is and what webmasters should expect, also how to avoid being banned by the search system.
What is the peculiarity of Penguin 3.0?
Penguin is a new-generation filter from Google. Its work is directed to location and elimination of websites which use so-called ‘black SEO’ for their optimization. The ‘Black SEO’ includes the following:
1. Cloaking;
2. Corrupted, infected or spam-like links to your site from other resources, which are often used to increase site rankings in organic search results;
3. A lot of advertising links from your site.
According to statistics, such updates usually take place on Friday – Saturday. Since the announcement was made by Google at the end of August, we should expect the new algorithm implemented in late September – early October period.
Most of websites’ and stores’ administrators did not worry too much before, especially if they were not using the optimization ways of so-called ‘black SEO’. But Google has recently banned two most popular European link markets which are a very bad sign even for the most conscientious webmasters.
Why is it dangerous
Most likely, your web store will be thrown into the end of the search results list, your ratings will fall and the volume of visits will reduce. Sometimes, more strict measures are taken: stop of your site indexing, removal from Google advertising network, etc. For a simple site with informative content this may not be a big problem, but for a Magento ® web store it may become critically important.
Why Penguin was launched
It will soon be one year since the last Google PR update took place. Despite the rumors that PR will shortly be canceled, we should note that launching of Penguin is a clear sign that ranking is going to be reviewed. In other words, the search engine wants to filter out bad sites or those which used to be good but lost their positions and place more interesting and useful resources in their place.
We cannot say that it is bad. In any case, all webmasters work for the profit of their customers and users. However, it is useful to know how to protect your site from Penguin:
1. Check all links that direct to your site and from your site, regardless of whether or not they are being indexed. This is very important. Remove unnecessary links, clean your site from broken ones;
2. Check your links using audit-check on corresponding trustful sites. Make sure that each link corresponds to Google’s regulations. You can find it in the Google Webmasters guide;
3. Check the functionality and the volume of visits to your store every day using special services. This is necessary to see and resolve any functionality problems and eliminate them at once. Also, monitor the number of visits considering possible seasonal characteristics of your business;
4. Do not work with link markets. After they were scandalously closed many users doubt the quality of links they provide. It is better to deal with the site owners directly;
5. Based on the previous point we should note, that it is now extremely important to control the number of links used in your site optimization (no matter where they come from). If you experience a sudden growth of visitors who are redirected from other sites this will attract the attention of search engines. Of course, you can contact technical support and remove the ban, but this will not compensate your lost time and potential customers.
By the way, you can check the SEO Extension for Magento ® which improves the search engine optimization safely.
What to do if you have already been caught by Penguin algorithm?
First of all, stop panicking. This is not the worst of the filters so you have a chance to regain your positioning. Review your links profile using special services. Avoid frequent usage of the same keywords in your anchor list. If there are a lot of sites directing to yours with similar anchors, you should work on tempering of your external URLs anchor list. Failure to comply with this requirement may serve as a reason for taking more strict measures against your site. It is possible that you will have to wait for some time. Thirdly, check how many months left before it expires (even if you have done everything correctly by this time. Fourthly, contact specialists in order to get the individual recommendations.
In his last statement, John Mueller said that the algorithm is going to be updated every 10-12 months, so be attentive.
If you know other ways to avoid the attention of Penguin 3.0 filter please share them in comments to this article. If necessary, GoMage specialists can help you to analyze your site and locate corrupted links.
