Penguin 2.0: What it means
The new google algorithm, named Penguin, has ensured that new content is free from spam and pages are more relevant to search results. This is not only good for webmasters but also for users, since much of the content they searched for before was not relevant to what they were looking for. This resulted in lots of “spammy” content, such as pages which were quickly typed up solely with SEO and keywords in mind and without thinking about the quality of the content much.
The announcement from Matt Cutts, head of the Webspam team, was that the current Penguin algorithm has further improved the previous version. The emphasis, as previously mentioned, is still on high-quality content with natural and fluent language instead of convoluted language for purposes of SEO.
Somewhat before the current Penguin update, Mr Cutts made a video which was displayed on the official Google Youtub channel. This video instructed users on the most important changes which would take place with the incoming google algo. These changes include identifying bogus searches or queries, keyword stuffing, odd links and generally unethical content. By unethical, shady black-hat SEO practices are implied.
Matt explained in the video that the current update will further streamline searches and provide users exactly what they are looking for; this content will be well written and natural, and also provide accurate information which pertain to the searches.
Other Major Changes
Penguin 2.0 is also concentrating on targeting users who try and manipulate page rank with the very techniques indicated above. These are not only in the form of keyword stuffing, but also inbound linking and text placed in the anchor which is used specifically to obtain a favourable rank within search engine results. While these practices will always find some kind of weakness in the algo, and therefore cannot be stopped completely, the new algorithm should put a considerable stop on shady matters and suspicious web code.
Avertorial spam is also being heavily targeted, and while not many users or even web masters may be aware of it it takes place a lot. This practice is also a black-hat technique and entails writing content which isn’t designed to help users or provide information, but has the sole purpose of re-directing users to content which isn’t at all related to the original query. The purpose of this is to boost ad revenue and also the page ranks of the site itself. Hopefully, with the current improved state of Penguin this is a practice which will be stopped completetly.
Overall, the new algo will make sure that users can find what they are specifically looking for, without having to waste time cirmunavigating to information which does not pertain to the original search. This can waste considerable time, particularly for businesses which rely on information obtained from the web. These can be individuals working for offices or even educational establishments which heavily rely on daily web searches and the quality of information obtained in this manner.
What This Means for Content Providers
Hence, web masters will now be aware of what the new algorithm does and how they can recover in case of a major disaster (in terms of page ranking). The key word here is “quality;” as long as web masters and content providers are able to give quality to their user base, there is no need to worry.
Lastly, make sure these points and the new changes are understood so that the recovery process is as smooth as possible. Remember: as long as keywords are naturally integrated, content is informative and quality is high the page rank will eventually rise all on its own.