So, your blog has survived the Penguin update and you are feeling perfectly happy with the things are. Now do not shot the messenger because here I am going to tell you something that might leave a bitter taste in your mouth. Yes the Penguin update is far from being over. In fact, if we go by the words of Matt Cutts, head of web spam team at Google, you should fasten your seat belts if you happen to manipulate the algo of Google in one way or the other. And believe me this one is not going to be the regular data refreshes kind of thing because Matt Cutts has warned that this update be “jarring”. So what is going to happen? Is the next update going to put the last nail in the coffin of Link building? Let us dig down the details a little bit:
It is not Just data Refreshes: Matt Cutts has made it clear that Penguin and Panda updates are basically totally different concepts. Panda update is not going to get you off the guard because it will just be minor changes, just an attempt from Google’s end just to fine-tune the algo. But the upcoming Penguin update is certainly not like this. Though Matt Cutts is visibly against the idea of stressing you out fearing the upcoming Penguin update, there are reasons for concerns. The upcoming Penguin update is going to be a major one with engineers working on incorporating new signals and giving finessing touches to the algo. Matt Cutts has warned that the next Penguin update will take some time to incorporate the new signals and as a result, we are supposed to see more noticeable impacts. Having said that it means, SERP will see major upheavals in coming months and therefore, you should not be surprised if you see any changes in the traffic volume.
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We are In the Early Stages: Yes, as far as Google is concerned, we are still in the early stages of Penguin updates and there is much action left. As Google is at its algo again and as it is made clear that the next update will not be as smooth as the usual Panda update, webmasters have started looking over their shoulders. But what is intriguing about this upcoming algo shuffle is that Google is not willing to spill the beans yet. Therefore, we have no other options but to wait for the Judgment day. However, to be on the safe side, here are the few things that you can give a try:
Less Focus on Links: We have enough of this shit already. Excessive dependency on links is what leads to the roll out of Penguin. Google is pushing this update just to punish those sites that are still indulging in bad linking practice. If you believe that guest blogging is going to save your skins, you could not be more than mistaken. Google is watching the latest trend of SEO and guest blogging as a mean to attract links can also face the axe. Focus on creating value.
Forget About Anchor Text: I think we should stop using anchor texts altogether. Use long tail keywords while internal linking and try to earn links with branded keywords or with the website URL.
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Spend Money On Advertising: Before the Penguin and Panda updates, people were in the belief that they can get thousands of free visitors by securing top ranking on competitive keywords. But as Google has started torching sites with unnatural linking patterns, everyone around seems to put their money on somewhere else. Yes, people are now willing to spend more money on marketing that adds to better online presence. So stop spending money to get crappy links rather use your money to earn something that adds real value.
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So another earthquakes are coming in SEO industry in upcoming months.
Yup and as Matt Cutts has claimed, it will be jarring .. let us hope for the best.
Either I have to pack my bags and leave this blogosphere or wait and get the impact of the update. If these changes are just the ‘initial stages’ I wonder what the final stage will be 🙁 I guess they will be rolling out the final updates on December 21st 2012. (joking) 😛
Could you explain how we could focus less on links ? Am I seeing the concept of guest blogging declining ?
It is really hard to predict things at this moment,… we have already had Penguin refresh, Panda refresh, Above the fold penalty refreshes and EDM this week and probably, at the end of this year, we will face the much touted Penguin update
Updates are going to rock again in the coming days for sure.The indication from Matt has clearly said that its going to be tough for spammers.And Google is ready to hit with Hammers.
Yes, it is going to be tough for spammers and for SEOers as well because honestly speaking Google thinks SEO is SPAM .. it is a bitter truth
I am not satisfied with your words Stark,if it is SPAM then there will be no updates to decrease the spamming frequently.SEO is not a SPAM the way people do Is.
Part of me believes that Google relies too much on links so it will be interesting to see how it all plays out. Will it be about Google making more money? Hope not – I’d hate to see money be the cause for the first page ranking for all websites.
Dear Stark,
Nice post and very valuable information
Thanks for sharing Google Penguin and Panda updates..
My pleasure
Knowingly or unknowingly, i never allowed guest posts on our site. Its because, people are earning a lot from these things and are very greedy. They want us to post 2 dofollow links for 500 article? Are you kidding me? Thank god! we stopped 🙂
Hi Stark,
I guess it’s just a distraction for bloggers. If we do really like to blog so just focus on making high quality contents (the content that comes from our own voices). Besides there is old fashioned style to build link, isn’t it? Like what I do here … put a great comments for other bloggers 🙂
Thanks for the post
Well, I think this is working in my favour. I have seen my traffic increase in three folds within the last one week. The key is just to focus on content and let things happen naturally. Google tell you to do something today and tomorrow it is wrong.
Great post, anchor text are going away for sure, I already stated on my blog for guest bloggers to use links without anchor text inside the author bio, we will see how is that going to work.
But for sure, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
thanks for sharing
Hi Stark, I don’t think the impact will be that great since almost all bloggers & website owners practise the same techniques. So even if it’s a mass demolition, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are going to be on the losing side since everything would be in relative terms.