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Penguin Update Targets Link Schemes and Low-Quality Content

May 10, 2012 By

Google’s much anticipated “over-optimization” algorithm update has been released. It was originally thought this new update would be called “Venice.” But in keeping the tradition of other updates that were named for animals (…think Panda), the search giant named this update “Penguin.”

We did have some forewarning this update was coming. As we discussed a little over a month ago, Google’s spam chief Matt Cutts was asked at the SXSW Conference what Google was doing about “overly-optimized” sites. Although it isn’t customary for Cutts and Google to announce an update ahead of time, he went on to explain how the search giant was planning an algorithmic update to deal with this issue.

So what is overly-optimized content?

In the context of the Penguin update, this can include content stuffed with keywords, shady link building and other practices. According to a report in Search Engine News and SEO Moz, sites negatively affected by the update likely have one or more of the following:

  • Low-quality or “spun” content
  • Questionable linking practices
  • Overuse of exact-match domains
  • Aggressive use of exact-match anchor text
  • Keyword stuffing in internal/outbound links

Below is an example from Google’s Webmaster Central Blog of a site with unusual linking patterns and excessive use of keywords. Notice how the links have no relation to the content.

Courtesy of Google Webmaster Central blog

Best we and others can tell the update was rolled out to all languages simultaneously on April 24th. For searches in English, it’s estimated around 3.1% of queries were affected. To compare, the initial phase of Google’s Panda update affected 12% of searches done in English but in the beginning, Google said it would only affect 3% of searches.

But someone else’s loss could be someone else’s gain. Many sites who are not affected indeed improve their position following updates like Penguin.

From updates like Penguin and Panda, we can discern that Google prefers branded sites – early reports too indicate that sites with a good link profile survived the latest algorithmic update. We all know how Google has been targeting spam, unnatural links and low-quality sites for a long time. This latest “update” is simply a continuation down that road.

Penguin is a lot like Panda in that it is an “algorithmic” update – meaning that if you were affected, submitting a reconsideration request with Google won’t get you very far. Basically what you have to do is remove the spam, clean up your site and wait for a data refresh and re-crawl.

That of course can take weeks.

If you feel your site was caught in the filter by mistake, there is a form you can complete to petition Google. You can also visit your Webmaster Tools account or use Google’s Webmaster Forum to inquire about your site.

It’s suggested however that you be real careful in pursuing these options. Be absolutely sure your site doesn’t have an issue with it to cause it to be legitimately filtered during an update.

Check back with us again in the next couple of weeks as we explore things that can trigger a loss in rankings through algorithmic updates.

Was your site affected by the Penguin update?

If so, what was the issue and what are you doing to address it?

Other Posts You May Be Interested In

Answer these 23 Questions to Understand What Google Looks For

Upcoming Google Update to Penalize “Over-Optimized” Sites

3 Steps You Should Take Before Linking to another Site

8 Ways you can safely sell Links on your Website

Google Panda Update Causes Some Sites to Lose Traffic, Revenues

Filed Under: Copywriting/SEO Content Development, Forum Watch, SEO Technology, Tip of the Day Tagged With: , , , , ,

Google Instant Not Making the Splash Some Said It Would

October 5, 2010 By

With the rollout of the new Google Instant feature last month, some search engine marketers wondered aloud if this spelled the end of SEO…every time Google announces something, there are always some people who may take it more seriously than it really is.

It’s a well known fact that companies and others announce news with such fanfare that it makes unsuspecting people very anxious when in reality it’s just a blip on the radar screen. Google is no different in how it announces events at the company.

News that’s not really that significant is made to appear so and vice versa.

Well that certainly is the case with Google Instant – the new feature that displays search results as you’re typing in a search. Many SEOs thought this would spell doom for long-tail keywords.

But with some time and research by our friends over at SEOMoz, that isn’t really happening. If there have been any changes in long-tail keyword traffic, it’s been very minimal.

The Conductor Blog for instance analyzed 880,000 search visits for ten high-traffic sites in different industries and came up with the following data…very little impact as you can tell. The slight increase in long-tail keyword traffic would seem to go against what some have been saying.

Conductor Analysis of 880,000 Searches

Conductor Analysis of 880,000 Searches

Another set of research by MEC backs Conductor’s results up. As you can see, there’s not much if any difference in long-tail traffic.

MEC Analysis of Different Keyword Searches

MEC Analysis of Different Keyword Searches

In fact, this has generally been the case with Google’s updates according to veteran SEO Rand Fishkin of SEOMoz. What initially may seem as a dramatic shift usually turns out to only be a minor tweak web marketers need to make to their strategies (i.e. personalization, local search, etc.)

Really the only updates that make a big difference are barely mentioned by the company…the 2003 Florida Update and Google Sandbox are a couple that come to mind.

And while there have been some minor adjustments, search engine marketing has fundamentally stayed pretty consistent since 2002 according to Rand. At its core, SEO involves the four following things:

1.       Make pages accessible

2.       Target keywords searchers use on those pages

3.       Create content visitors will find useful and valuable

4.       Earn editorial links from good sources

Next time there’s a big announcement like Google Instant or Caffeine, Rand suggests you ask yourself if any of these 4 elements have changed. If not, then the update is probably not a big deal and easily manageable.

Filed Under: Forum Watch, Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Tip of the Day Tagged With: , ,

New Instant Search from Google Leaves Many Marketers Scratching their Heads

September 16, 2010 By

Last week, I began noticing a difference in what happens when doing a search on Google. As I was typing in the keyword phrase, Google automatically started showing me results and suggestions on what I was looking for. As has been the case for awhile, Google does provide suggestions as you type in a search phrase.

But with this new instant results feature that tries to predict what someone is looking for, some have postulated that the SEO craft is now totally dead. Others say instant search isn’t a big deal. The question remains though…what do we do about it?

While some are buzzing around fretting about how SEO is now a thing of the past, Google has stated publicly that they have made no changes to their algorithm. Really, the instant search feature is more of a browser-type feature that speeds things up. From an SEO perspective, it really shouldn’t change much of the mechanics of what you do.

Since this change has just been rolled out, it will be awhile before we know how it affects user behavior.

So in the mean time, you may want to begin researching how these instant results affect your audience’s intent according to Damien Bianchi over at Search Engine Land.

Damien argues that searchers in the beginning stages of the buying cycle could easily be distracted with instant results.  Those who know what they’re trying to find are less likely to be distracted by instant results and Google’s suggestions.

To approach this problem, Damien suggests webmasters create a matrix of audience segments…he suggests “focused users” and “early users.” Make a list of your preferred landing pages and keywords for each and create a baseline ranking and traffic report and monitor it for major fluctuations.

Chances are, you will see a drop in the “early users” segment Damien says.

At this point, you will see which keyword phrases are not performing and be able to create a plan of action to address the problem.

Of course Damien is just one view out of many out there regarding Google Instant Search.

BTW – Personally, I find this new feature very annoying. If you’re in the same boat, there’s fortunately a way you can turn it off. Simply click “Search Settings” at the top right of the Google homepage and then scroll near the bottom where you will see a box for Google Instant. You can adjust the setting there.

And check back with us over the next few weeks as we see how this new feature from Google affects optimizing websites for the search engines.

Filed Under: Forum Watch, SEO Technology, Tip of the Day Tagged With: , , , ,

Keywords in My Domain Name – Will it give Me a Rankings Boost?

September 7, 2010 By

One common question from aspiring webmasters and SEOs is whether you can benefit from having keywords in your URL. Does Google place a premium on websites who do somehow incorporate keywords into their domain names?

I’m afraid to say no one can answer that question beyond a reasonable doubt. Some websites seem to benefit from it more than others.

A recent Search Engine Roundtable post discusses this issue with two extremes – one saying they don’t matter at all and the other saying they’re quite the necessity.

A lot of the answer to this question depends on how competitive your keywords are…if you’re in a highly competitive industry, you’re not likely to see much of a boost from having keywords in your URL. Take our URL for example – having SEO in there may help some but we’re certainly not depending on the URL to bring us high rankings.

As we’ve discussed before, Google’s algorithm consists of many different elements that are each weighted differently.

So the best advice and way to think about keywords in the URL – don’t worry too much about it!

That’s right, work on building content, links and a crawlable architecture that’s easily indexed by the search engines. Over time, this is what builds sustainable search engine rankings, not just some keywords in a URL.

They can give you a slight edge but it just depends. The better way is to choose a URL that you want because it’s going to be with you for a very long time.  Besides, those particular keywords may cease to be relevant in the future.

Filed Under: Forum Watch, SEO Technology, Tip of the Day Tagged With: , , ,

Webinar Provides Great Tips on Optimizing Landing Pages

August 23, 2010 By

Recently, I took the time to watch a webinar hosted by Marketing Experiments on optimizing landing pages. By landing pages, we mean any page meant to motivate someone to take action – no matter if that’s clicking a “buy” button, downloading a newsletter or filing out a contact form.

By evaluating different metrics and experimenting with different layouts, Marketing Experiments’ webinar outlined how you can drive much higher conversion rates.

It’s not about marketing intuition or a list of best practices…successfully driving higher conversion rates with landing pages is more about a framework or methodology. Think about it more from a sequence of thought perspective rather than mere optimization of words or images. In your reader’s mind, the value of every action you desire for them to take must outweigh the cost.

It’s like a see-saw – on one end you have cost, and on the other you have value. If the cost is high, fewer people will find the value in going further.

So how do I reduce “cost” in my landing pages?

To reduce cost, you must reduce friction by eliminating any unnecessary length or difficulty in the order path, or thought sequence.

Basically, the hosts (Flint McCaughlin & company) of the interview say you must answer two of the readers’ most critical questions very quickly – you have to do this within “four inches and seven seconds” according to Flint.

Not answering the questions “Where am I?” and “What am I doing here?” means more people will be clicking that back button.

Be sure your visitor knows where they have landed.

Also reduce cost by not having many form fields. Keep questions to a minimum.

Increasing your page’s value along with decreasing its cost is another way you can drive higher conversion rates. Carefully identify and communicate key factors that set you above your competition…offer “unique value” to your prospects.

Another way to increase value – use specific, quantitative and instantly credible language when describing benefits of your products or services.

Take about an hour or so and watch this very useful webinar. They provide great examples of their work so you can visually see how to structure a page for maximum benefit along with how you should approach what you say…I’m trying some of their tips now so I’ll let you know how it works out.

Filed Under: Forum Watch, Online Marketing, Site Architecture, Tip of the Day Tagged With: , , , ,
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