What is Google Panda & Google Penguin?

The simple answer is two updates to Google’s algorithms and dealing with two specific items.

To make this as easy to follow as possible I’ve listed some of the updates and what to do in order to regain or to take advantage of SEO for your business online in this new dawn of Google targeting Spam (Onsite and Offsite in bound links) and Better Quality web pages

So to get straight into it…

What is Google Panda?

Google also periodically creates new algorithms. When this happens, sometimes they’re given names by Google itself, Panda took its name from one of the key engineers involved. Panda algorithm, unlike Penguin, which is meant to target spam, Panda is designed to target pages that aren’t spam but are low in quality – generally poorly written and lack substance.

Recovery Tips

• Create good articles focusing on visitor engagement and quality authority pages
• Panda is a site wide penalty filter so focus on a majority of good to lesser quality pages to balance your site in favour of Google.
• Remove any poor content
• Start a blog on your site focused on your visitors gaining value from your content

What is Google Penguin

The Penguin Update launched on April 24. It was a change to Google’s search results that was designed to punish pages that have been spamming Google. If you’re not familiar with spam, it’s when people do things like “keyword stuffing” or “cloaking” that violate Google’s guidelines. To learn more, see these pages:

• Google Webmaster Guidelines 

Recovery Tips

• Change Title tags to more natural sounding Titles with minimum keywords and focus on your brand
• Mix up anchor text and your web page URL’s
• Use Social Sharing to increase your social reach
• Stick to creating great content
• Keep away from Link farms and blog networks

What happened when? The recent Google update Timeline:

• Penguin Refresh — May 26, 2012
• April 52-Pack — May 4, 2012
• Panda 3.6 — April 27, 2012
• Penguin — April 24, 2012
• Panda 3.5 — April 19, 2012
• Parked Domain Bug — April 16, 2012
• March 50-Pack — April 3, 2012
• Panda 3.4 — March 23, 2012

Conclusion

If it doesn't feel natural then you probably shouldn’t do it on your website, this is kinda where Google is taking us. To an internet where your content is genuine and offers value to your visitors. Google wants to serve its customer better, all of your web visitors, so the way they do that is to offer them (their visitors) great websites, and to make the cut put in those extra ten pushups and get your websites in shape with content, social reach and value adding link building.

If you would like to find out more please either leave a comment or get in touch. Thank you for reading.

Leon Streete

I don’t like reading because pictures engage me better. Check the Infographics

Panda

Penguin

Further reading from SEO authorities / From the Horses Mouth

• http://insidesearch.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/another-step-to-reward-high-quality.html?spref=tw
• http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/more-guidance-on-building-high-quality.html
• Identifying Which update affected you: http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/8583-how-to-identify-and-fix-google-panda
• http://searchengineland.com/5-new-tactics-for-seo-post-panda-73982
• Penguin Recovery http://www.seomoz.org/blog/7-achievable-steps-for-great-seo-after-the-penguin-update
• http://searchengineland.com/penguin-update-recovery-tips-advice-119650

Dan Thies

http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/webmasters/Azfly-iRtLs

To raise a message of thanks for the recent Penguin updates with Google Dan Theis a self professed SEO guru managed to get a response from Matt Cutts at Google.

In response to this so called brown nosing an Search Engine Marketer responded by testing out negative SEO with some interesting results although not as yet entirely conclusive

More info: http://trafficplanet.com/topic/2369-case-study-negative-seo-results/page__st__0

Its clear this is something that has to be addressed at Google, its as easy as $5 to throw a bunch of negative links to your competitor: See here http://fiverr.com/negativeseoguy

What SEO MOZ is saying:

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/negative-seo-myths-realities-and-precautions-whiteboard-friday