Link building is one of the main strategies used today for search engine optimization. It involves getting links back to your own website established on other websites. The idea is that when other websites encourage their own visitors to head over to your site, it boosts your reputability and, ultimately, your ranking in the major search engines. 

Unfortunately, unethical link building practices emerged shortly after the development of link building. The goal of these practices was to get results from link building more quickly and for less money. As some people used these improper tactics, a search engine ranking could be achieved by low-quality, unreputable sites. 

To counteract this link building phenomenon, Google adopted the Penguin algorithm. Here, we’ll learn the basics of how Google Penguin works and how it impacts SEO strategies for businesses today. 

What is Google Penguin?

To protect the integrity of their search ranking system, Google introduced the Penguin algorithm in 2012. The goal of the Penguin update is to weed out disingenuous SEO schemes that hinges on unethical back linking. It does this by knocking down the ranking of websites that are found to use unethical SEO tactics. 

Penguin is designed to identify the following SEO strategies:

• Link Schemes

The act of buying, developing, or obtaining backlinks from irrelevant or substandard websites in an attempt to artificially boost a website’s Google ranking is considered a link scheme. 

• Keyword Stuffing

Keyword stuffing relates to the content of a website. When high volumes of keywords are intentionally included in the pages of a website to increase its ranking under certain search phrases, it’s considered keyword stuffing.

What Does Google Penguin Mean For My Website?

What does Google Penguin mean for website owners today?

For one, if back linking is a component of your SEO strategy, you’ll need to make sure that it adheres to Google’s ethical standards. That means that your backlinks should be found on reputable, relevant websites. You should typically steer clear of sites that seem to post a high volume of backlinks with no other purpose, or those that are foreign. A handful of backlinks on top-quality sites will be far more effective than tens or hundreds of links on questionable websites.

As far as keyword stuffing goes, pay attention to your anchor text. It should be relevant and effective, but also diverse. If the anchor text for all of the links to your site is identical, Google will likely bump down your rating. 

Enlisting the help of an expert web marketing firm like WattMedia can eliminate your risk for penalties from Google Penguin. With an upstanding SEO strategy, your website’s ranking will steadily rise for increased traffic and success.