Penguin 2.0 Update: Top Losers and How You Can Remain In the Good Books of Google!

A few days ago, I made a post on the recent Google Penguin 2.0 update where I pointed out that Google may play down on the Panda smack. I also mentioned that the impact of Penguin 2.0 may not be too serious as many were expecting.

True to my suggestions, hours after the update was rolled out, the results of the effect has proved me correct.

Now, let me quickly say that I do not claim to be an SEO expert but if you are a regular reader of this blog you will understand by now that I'm passionate about driving organic traffic from the search engines. I believe greatly that search engine traffic is the most valuable so far on the net and therefore search engine optimization should be top most in wise internet entrepreneur's marketing strategy!

Recommended: SEO & PPC Compared: Would You Rather Pay $1.500 Or $0 To Drive Search Engine Traffic?

Also, as an SEO web content writer, I’m always researching the subject of search engine marketing and SEO to know what really to do at every point in time. This is why when the news of Google rolling out Penguin 2.0 hit the internet; I went out to research the subject.

So, in this post I want to update you on the results of Penguin 2.0 and also give you some tips on what you must do right away, since there are indications that this update will continue in stages in the coming months.

The Top Losers of Penguin 2.0 Update

For this I want to give the results as reported by SearchMetrics.com – an SEO software company that prides itself on providing quality data for businesses. Here's a graphic as reported by the site:

Google Penguin 2.0 Update: Here are the top Losers !

As you can see from the results above, it is clear that the top losers are porn sites and game sites. Others are big brands like Dish.com, the Salvation Army, CheapOair and Educational Testing Service (ETS).

According to Marcus Tober, SearchMetrics founder,

“My first analysis shows that many thin sites, sites with thin links and especially untrusted links face the problem. In addition, some small business sites were hit because they haven’t taken SEO serious enough.”

That indeed is instructional – sites that did not take SEO serious were also hit!

He also reiterated my earlier stance when he said,

“It’s not the update I was expecting. I thought that this Google Penguin update would have had a bigger impact similar to Panda 1. But that didn’t happen.”

Yes, not what many expected but we understand that Google is just starting with this, according to Matt Cutt in this video. That is why you must take the following seriously.

How Do You Ensure That You Stay In Google's Good Books?

Here are two posts I did back in 2011 when Panda was released and in 2012 when Penguin was released:

• Google’s Content Farmer: What You Can Do To Stay Afloat! (2011)

• Google Panda And Penguin Updates: What You Should Know To Stay Ahead Of The Game!

But for the now here are some things you must avoid:

1. Multiple Links from One Domain

This is one indicator that Google is using to determine link farms (commercialized link building networks). Google algorithms are now structured to identify these types of links and once you fall into this category your site will be “hammered!”

Now, I must say this is really one that I'm not really comfortable with because of an experience I had last year. I reported that incidence in a post: Blog Commenting for Backlinks: Can It Affect You Negatively?
Please read it because if you have too many links from a particular domain because of blog commenting, you could run afoul of Google Penguin rules!

2. Keyword Over-Use

Keywords, over the years, have always been the bedrock of search engine optimization. Because of this they, like backlinks have been the most abused by SEOs. This is what is called “keyword stuffing.” To guide against this it is advised that you use synonyms and related keyword phrases in your content.

Recommended: The Watertight Strategy for effectively Writing Content for SEO in A Post-Penguin Internet!

3. Links from Irrelevant Sites

Google gives high regards to backlinks pointing to your sites. To Google these are “votes” of confidence on your site. But with the increase of what Google now regard as linkspam, its algorithms are presently built to detect “un-natural” links. It is therefore pertinent that, from time to time, you check the links pointing to your sites and when you detect links from un-related sites, remove them using Google's “Disavow” tool.

4. Links from Bad Neighbourhood Websites

Like #3 above, you must check if websites that have been blacklisted by Google have links pointing to your sites. As the saying goes, “Bird of the same feather flock together!” Google will regard your site as a spammy site if you have links from such sites. So, beware!

Conclusion

The fight to clean up the webspace by Google is an on-going one. It is therefore a wise thing to understand what is going on and then align yourself in the right camp, now.

If you are running an ecommerce site, it is advisable to install a blog on your website as this will help to keep the site regularly updated – a good way to keep Google happy! Also, hiring professional SEO web content writers to create marketing content for your sites will also help your sites to naturally get into the search engines instead of trying to use blackhat tactics.

Over to You: What is your experience with Penguin 2.0? Where your sites affected? Do you have some tips that for those who have been hit? Please, share with us in your comments below.