If there is anything that has shook the SEO world, it is the Google Panda and Penguin updates. It appears as if Google is trying to make SEO (Search Engine Optimization) history by making results more natural (as they are technically supposed to be). Unfortunately, this is leading to widespread issues for SEO experts including the potential chance of losing their job and livelihood. But all is not all that murky, since there is a way to avoid getting nabbed by the Panda or Penguin updates.
While a lot can be said about the dos and don’ts in regard to these two fierce animals of the Google world (and we thought they were supposed to be cute), however the best way to understand these algorithms is by the infographic shown below. They say a picture is worth a thousand words but this one seems to be worth a lot more.
Thanks to Reload Media, a simple explanation of these algorithms has been provided, which is not only handy for beginners but also give some of food for thought for the Pros. For example, let’s take a look at what Google Panda and Penguin is about.
A Google Panda update can affect you if:
- Your site has thin content
- If you are running a content farm (blogs or websites just for selling links with no real purpose)
- If your site experiences high bounce rates
Google’s Penguin update can affect you if:
- You have low quality backlinks (e.g. from content farms)
- If you are over optimizing your anchor text
- If you are stuffing keywords
How To Avoid Getting Penalized
To begin with, avoid the above mentioned and do not get greedy by creating similar or duplicate pages to show up more in Google. Since that is guaranteed to get you penalized. The solution is simple:
1. Build Natural links: Build your links naturally by tipping websites which may link back to you for a news story or a review.
2. Avoid Spam Directories: Likewise, use reliable directories like Technorati and not every junk directory or do-follow social bookmarking site that you come across.
3. Use Rel=Author: Use the Rel=Author tag, as suggested by Google. This will allow you to link your Google profile to the website that you are writing content for. This might not be directly related to Panda or Penguin but can get you better search visibility. See my profile at the end of this post and the “Google” anchor text that links to my Google Plus profile. For more details, check out this page and the video given below.
4. Provide Useful Content: Provide content which may actually have some utility to the visitor instead of writing copied or low-quality content. Hire a professional blogger or content writer if you need to.
5. Use Social Media: Make full use of social media websites, including social networking, social bookmarking, social news, forums and even video streaming websites. See the WML Cloud YouTube channel to get some ideas.
