After years of speculation, and a two-year wait for an update of any kind, Google announced that Penguin, a penalty that Google assesses for spammy links and that causes sites to drop in rankings, is now a permanent part of its core algorithm. It also now operates in real time, refreshing data much faster than it did prior to this update.
This change is good news, and here’s why:
- Swift punishment for spam: Sites that have spammy links will be caught and penalized quickly.
- Relief for cleaned-up sites: Sites that had a Penguin penalty levied after October 2014 — and that cleaned up their links since then — will finally be able to recover.
- Better targeting: Until now, spammy links would affect the ranking of an entire website. With this update, which Google says is “more granular,” specific pages or sections of a site can be affected without devaluing the rest of the site.
The announcement of the update was made on September 23. Although it’s still in the process of rolling out, we’ve yet to see any changes. Because it’s now a real-time filter, this will be the last Penguin update.
If you’ve seen a sudden decrease in traffic on your local company’s site, Penguin may be the reason. There’s no quick fix for recovering from a Penguin penalty, but we can help. Get in touch to learn more about our penalty recovery services.
Chris Gregory
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