The Penguin Algorithm by Google was first introduced on the 24th of April. Almost a month after its release now is the right time to discuss its overall impacts and also some remedies. Google claims that Penguin has had an effect on only 3.1% of the total number of websites on the internet. This number does not sound too much but if you are among those hit, then you will beg to differ. A large part of this 3 percent is small business groups that depended on high search results on Google to run their business for them. The Wall Street Journal quotes a forty- seven year old owner of a dog supply business who list most of his business due to the release of Penguin.
The question that arises is- what is the fault of those who suffered? The answer is unclear except that he had paid for “hundreds of inbound links”. If links are the real issue, then what to look up to while searching for a good link? Here’s what:
- Never buy links. Good links cannot be bought. Such links have neither authority nor value. Google despises this and will penalize it.
- Search links from popular people, organizations, sites and brands.
- Links must be relevant to the content of the page.
- Links must be valuable to readers
- Anchor text used must contain the URL and name of your brand. Do not use keywords in an anchor link as this will be highly expensive.
You must also be clearly aware of this although it may not be your wrongdoing at all- a large number of unauthoritative inbound links to your website could set off a negative reaction from Google. What you can do is ask such sites to de-link to your website. Other ideas are also appreciated.
Overuse of keywords in your business could also land you in trouble with Google. This has always been unadvised for a long time and was a topic of discussion during the Panda updates made in 2011. Google treats keyword stuffing equivalent to spamming and does not encourage it at all. Google engineers say that the Penguin algorithm was created in order to reduce spam on the internet. What can you do to make sure you are not affected by the algorithm? This is what you can do:
1. Make your website user friendly. Humans are visiting your site eventually. Write content that is valuable and informative, to the point, enjoyable and easy to comprehend.
2. Use your keywords carefully and in certain limits. Use only a few good keywords. Ensure that the keywords are also present in the title, description and in the site URL. Use the Google Keywords Tool to analyze and find the most suitable and commonly used keywords pertaining to your product or service.
3. You can highlight your keywords in your headings and in your sub- headings. Maintain readability factor once you get on with writing the text. Overusing keywords is very counter productive and foolhardy.
Social marketing has an important position in SEO. The willingness of your fans or customers to click on your site means that your website is authoritative and has many interested readers. Treat your Facebook page equivalent to an auxiliary website. Do not use it too often. Post around once a week. Google encourages exchange of information between the customers and businessmen on a social page. They give special rewards to web pages that have numerous Facebook likes. Do not feel shy to ask for likes. Make your page professional and not personal. Personal pages are those with lots of friends while professional pages have lots of likes.
In case you wish to hire an SEO expert, make a choice carefully. A lot of them may trick you with big promises that they will not live up to. Make sure that the expert has a method clearly outlined and is going about the task in the right manner. Do not hire one without thorough cross- checking and verification.