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Website developers and SEO experts have been long awaiting a Penguin update from Google, and it’s finally arrived. However, the effect of Penguin 4.0 could take time to fully roll out as they re-crawl the whole internet.
Google’s Penguin 4.0 is a part of Google’s Core Algorithm. As of September 23, Penguin is now real-time. The Penguin update was designed to counter spam link efforts and monitor the link quality to websites. While the update was originally released in April of 2012, it immediately caused significant ripples in the digital realm. Websites that didn’t play by the rules all of a sudden were missing from search results.
Later updates came out over the past few years, and each time Penguin is released there are major changes to how search results look. However, this latest update is a positive one for sites that are performing their marketing strategies the proper way, and are not attempting to cheat the system.
The Penguin portion of the algorithm will constantly be on and updating. This is big news for the online marketing community, considering the fact that there are still spammy tactics occurring. Despite the fact that Google claims that black-hat tactics aren’t working, there is plenty of evidence that contrast that claim. However, Google is making efforts to make it a lot more challenging for black-hat marketers to succeed.
Now that Penguin has gone real-time, the algorithm will be catching spam link profiles a lot faster and help keep websites from ranking well in SEO that shouldn’t rank in Google search results.
In September, SERPs have experienced a very VOLATILE environment since April of 2012, which just so happened to be about two weeks before Penguin 1.0. However, the volatility that occurred during the last half of September may not necessarily have been due to Penguin 4.0 springing up.
Are Any Future Penguin Updates On the Horizon?
Since the update is now a real-time component of the algorithm, there likely will not be any public announcement updates like the Penguin series. However, constant updates to the algorithm will likely be made, somewhat like what Google is currently doing with its Panda update. As such, the algorithm will be a lot smarter and move at a faster pace compared to before, as Google is able to carry out changes as required rather than scheduling one huge update.
What Should You Do?
For starters, keeping your finger on the pulse of this update is crucial. You should be getting your link profile in order and utilize the tools available to clean it up. Among the better ways to optimize your link profile is to get a seasoned SEO consultant have a look at it and make suggestions on what to remove from the link profile. Websites can also get in touch with the source of the links via their webmaster and inquire about removing links or reclassifying them as nofollow.
All of this needs to start right now. Google is known to provide very limited warnings when they roll out their updates. Their time frames are fuzzy and short, so the faster you move to get your link profile in order, the better.