A Beginner’s Guide To The Google Penguin 4.0 Update
If you’re new to marketing or SEO, you may have heard about Google Penguin updates, but may have absolutely no idea what it means for business. Basically, the update will determine the strength and success of your marketing efforts online, as different factors will make or break a campaign.
What is Google Penguin?
Google Penguin launched back in 2012 and is the accumulation of 200 signals the search engine uses to determine the search rankings. The aim of Google Penguin updates is to say goodbye to spammy links and black hat link building techniques, which were designed to inflate the rankings. The Google Penguin 4.0 update was launched in September 2016 to encourage more webmasters to create “amazing, compelling websites”.
How Does The 4.0 Update Affect Marketing Strategies?
Google Penguin works in real time. Gone are the days when websites that were penalized for an update had to wait for Google’s next update. It takes just a matter of hours or days to penalize a website for bad links, but that means it also takes just hours or days for a website to recover from the penalty. It is therefore both a gift and a curse for webmasters across the globe.
As Google can devalue links in a matter of days, websites can therefore be more prone to ranking fluctuations each time Google performs a crawl. So, if your business attempts to effectively address the issues that caused the penalties, your website will be able to make a full recovery.
Can We Expect More Google Penguin Updates?
Google is always one step ahead of the most skilled webmaster and marketer. So, yes, you can certainly expect more updates to the SERPs down the road. However, don’t expect some big announcement that will throw your company or marketing efforts into a frenzy. Google has stated they will no longer provide anymore big Penguin announcements or comments.
How You Can Monitor A Website For Updates?
It’s up to the company or marketer to manually monitor organic traffic to identify unusual patterns or a sudden surge or decrease in traffic, so ensure your website is connected to Google Analytics. A website’s ranking can change as soon as Google applies the update to a page. One of the most effective ways a webmaster can monitor a site for updates is by setting up automated reports or email alerts, which will ensure they can easily identify any organic traffic changes. Also, don’t forget to pay close attention to your competitors’ rankings in the SERPS either, because an update could force them to rise up the ranks or take a sudden drop.
Why Google 4.0 Penguin Is Kinder Than Previous Releases
Google Penguin has become a little gentler in its old age. While the previous updates would have severely punished websites for manipulative link building techniques, the 4.0 update is a lot more forgiving. Instead of harming a website, the update simply devalues spammy links. Therefore, the links will not provide a website with any benefit, but they also will not destroy it completely, either. So, if you want to create a successful SEO strategy, it is vital you create an aesthetically pleasing, engaging website that attracts trusted, organic links. The Google Penguin will boost your rankings in the SERPs as a reward.
