Google Launches New Penguin Algorithm Update

A few days ago Google released an update of its algorithm that aims to fight black hat SEO techniques and the abundance of spam on the Internet.

With the latest algorithm update, Google’s love of black-and-white animals continues to show. After the Panda update that affected many websites’ rankings and SERPs over the past year, we welcome the Penguin algorithm update. There isn’t much information about Penguin at the moment but Google has published a couple of forms for webmasters who think they have been affected:

The first form is to notify Google that you think your website has been wrongly affected. You’ll have to submit your URL and explain why you think your website has been wrongly impacted.

The second form is the usual spam report form. Adding the word Penguin in your submission form may help the Webspam Team spot websites that may have been affected by the update.

After much speculation within the SEO and online marketing community, Google recently confirmed that Penguin has been officially fully rolled out as an algorithm update.

There is no way to fully know if your website has been hit or not. Google is still sending out notifications via Google Webmaster Central to inform of potential spam offences.

You should be able to get an idea if your website has been hit or not by checking your Analytics and seeing if there has been a drop in traffic or any significant keyword ranking drops.

If your website has been hit by Penguin, one of the best ways to begin fixing your penalty is by ensuring your website isn’t over-optimised for a particular keyword. You can check your Google Webmaster Tools account to see if you have received the spam notification message.

You should also make sure your website follows the guide lines provided by Google and remove any backlinks which could potentially devalue your website.

Some SEO agencies don’t always respect the rules expressed by Google. If you notice a drop in your traffic, you should ask your agency about their strategy or techniques to see if they are doing anything untoward which could explain why you were hit by Penguin.

Please be aware though—Panda 3.5 was released a few days before the latest Penguin update. You should be able to figure out which update has hit your website by checking the precise date at which you experienced a drop in rankings or traffic.