Google has been keeping a list of who’s been linking naughty or nice.
The SEO world is buzzing and the next major update to Penguin is coming in the very near future, possibly in December of 2015.
Typically I see 2 types of businesses affected by this algorithm, which exists to penalize websites manipulating search engines via gaming them with low quality or spammy links.
- The Webmaster intentionally gaming the search engines.
- The business owner who hired an SEO Company.
In the latter scenario, I get it. I worked in IT for many years. I have met thousands of people who have told me “I don’t care how it works, just make it work”. And that is fine, IF you have hired a good SEO company. Of course, the chances of that happening are about as good as hell freezing over. Most SEO companies do nothing, or worse, when they do something it is screw up your web presence.
With Christmas or your favorite holiday just around the corner no business owner wants to wake up to see their company’s site on page 28 of the search results.
Do you need to recover from a Penguin 4.0 penalty?
If this has happened to you, you are in for a tough time. There is no magic pill to fix things overnight. A GOOD SEO consultant can help you disavow the bad links and get you on the road to recovery. In many cases, when I am involved, if it is a small business, I scrap the site. Of course, there are many variables involved in making a decision like this and reinventing the wheel is not always the best option. But, in many cases, speaking from experience, IT IS.
If you have a website that has seen a loss in rankings in December 2015 please feel free to reach out to me. I will always serve up a bit of free advice. As for clients I typically can only take on businesses who have a good excuse for their penalty, are interested in the long term success of their business, and can weather a storm such as this.
Update September 2106:
Penguin 4.0 is officially here. Read more about it here: www.telapost.com/penguin4/
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