Written in 2016 when Penguin 4.0 launched. Penguin is now part of Google’s core algorithm and runs continuously.
How is your website ranking?
In the last few days, I’ve been asked a lot about website ranking and Google’s algorithm update known as Penguin 4. Penguin 4 is currently rolling out, so you might have already noticed or soon notice some changes to your ranking in the search engines because of it.
Keep in mind that Penguin has been a series of releases since 2012. When it was first released, its mandate was to catch sites that were found to be using spammy link-building strategies — things like buying bulk links, participating in link farms, or using automated software to generate backlinks. Over successive releases, Google refined how it detected and dealt with these tactics.
The biggest news is that Penguin is now real time. So theoretically, changes you make to your pages should be recognised quickly — this is good news if you are making changes in the right direction, and potentially bad news if you are doing spammy link-building but didn’t get caught in previous Penguin releases. Real-time processing means there is no longer a lengthy wait between updates; the algorithm now assesses your link profile continuously as Googlebot recrawls the web.
Unlike many Google algorithm releases though, it isn’t all scare tactics and bad news. If you were hit by past Penguin releases — perhaps with a penalty — and have made changes because of it, you may in fact be rewarded with this release. For example, if you’ve been rolling back dodgy links by disavowing them or reaching out to site owners for removal, you might now see some results of that strategy paying off in improved rankings.
What this means for your website
- If your site has a healthy, natural backlink profile, Penguin 4 is unlikely to cause any disruption.
- If you have been actively cleaning up old spammy links, this update may finally reward that effort with a rankings lift.
- If you are still engaging in manipulative link-building, the real-time nature of Penguin 4 means you are now at continuous risk rather than only being exposed at the next scheduled rollout.
Further reading
For quality reading about all things SEO, take a look at moz.com and searchengineland.com. For more on Penguin 4, check out:
- Google Updates Penguin, Says Now Real-Time — Search Engine Land
- Penguin 4: Was It Worth the Wait? — Moz
If you need help getting found in the search engines, please contact the team at Blue Platypus.
