Unlike Panda, Penguin doesn’t seem to target a specific breed of website. Instead, it goes after sites that use sketchy, black-hat SEO techniques. One prime example is the overuse of exact-match anchor text on incoming links. If too many sites link to yours using the same exact anchor text, your site could be penalized. This update also targets sites that use too many exact-match domains. In the past, buying a domain that closely matched your ideal keywords was a smart move. That appears to be changing. Stuffing too many of the same keywords into your site’s internal and outgoing links is also a big no-no with this new update. Finally, marketing low-quality articles on social media sites and directories will create problems under Penguin as well.
How to Avoid Penguin’s Wrath
As new as it is, there’s still a lot that isn’t known or understood about Penguin. If your site uses far too many of the same keywords in its outbound and internal links, make sure to switch things up as quickly as possible. Similarly, try to update the anchor texts on backlinks to your site so that they are more natural and aren’t all the same. Step up your content marketing efforts by using well-written, informative, interesting content. Don’t be too aggressive when posting them on social media sites. In other words, don’t spam your followers.
The Overall Impact of Penguin and Panda
Since debuting more than a year ago, Panda has affected approximately 12 percent of all websites. In contrast, Penguin has only affected around three percent of all sites. Of course, you can be sure that additional Penguin updates are in the pipeline, which is why it’s so critical to make changes and updates right now.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line on Panda and Penguin is that you need to avoid get-good-ranking-quick schemes like the plague. Your site should deserve to be near the top of the rankings. Google doesn’t want people to be tricked into landing on low-quality sites. By using above-board SEO techniques and keeping your site updated with fresh, well-written, relevant content, you should be able to keep it near the top of the results pages without a whole lot of effort. As tempting as it may be, avoid black-hat tricks and forget about cutting corners. To make it in the brave new world of Penguins and Pandas, you need to put high-quality content first. Visit this site for an extensive description on both Panda and Penguin.
