There’s big news in the world of SEO – and it’s good news for a reputable SEO company like ourselves.
Google has announced it’s rolling out a fresh update of its Penguin algorithm. Penguin 4.0 is the latest instalment of the filter that Google uses to identify and penalise websites attempting to earn higher rankings through the black hat technique of spammy or low-quality backlinks.
While an actual penguin may be timid by nature, Google’s Penguin is a beast. If it decided to penalise your site, you would remain penalised until Google decided on another filter run, which could take several months. That meant there was no chance of improving your rankings even if the problems were dealt with immediately.
Early indications are that Penguin 4.0 will remain just as vicious as earlier versions in imposing penalties.
So why is this good news for a good SEO company?
It’s because previously, while you might have had to wait months to escape from a penalty, you could have avoided that penalty for months too.
That allowed quick-fix SEO merchants who offer cheap bundled SEO packages to continue to go in and do their thing on short-term contracts. Their time would be up before the Penguin came round again. Then, when their unhappy customer returned to complain their rankings had plummeted, the quick-fix folk would say ‘Google have changed their algorithm’ and try to sign that client up for another spin on the merry-go-round.
Or, if the unhappy customer came to us instead, we could immediately see what the problem was, but fixing it wouldn’t bring any immediate results. We too had to wait for the Penguin to return. And since the website owner couldn’t see any change, they’d be unhappy with us too, even though we’d done everything right.
But now the Penguin is going real-time.
How is the real-time Penguin different?
In a nutshell, Penguin 4.0 is now working constantly. Google has confirmed that Penguin 4.0 is part of its core algorithm.
That means if your SEO company tries to dupe Google with low-quality backlinks, it will penalise you immediately. But it also means that if proper action is taken to remove those backlinks, it will remove the penalty immediately.
It puts the focus more than ever on efforts to improve rankings through high-quality and engaging content, rather than other techniques. And this is good news for us because that’s been the core principle of our SEO services all along.
On the other hand, the quick-fix pick-a-package merchants have neither the know-how nor the experience of improving rankings this way. The right way.
So will Penguin 4.0 affect my site’s rankings?
That depends on what’s already been done to your site. If we’re the ones who built your site, or if you’re already on an SEO package with us, there’s nothing to worry about, as we’ve been delivering SEO-friendly content all along. But if you’ve had your site out with others, and aren’t actually sure what they did, don’t be surprised if you see your rankings slip.
It might not be today or tomorrow, as Google has indicated Penguin 4.0 will take some weeks yet to begin operating at full power – but it will be soon.
The bottom line: Make the correct choice for your SEO needs
If your rankings start to fall and you need a new SEO company to get them back, choose us – remember, we’re the ones with the experience of doing things the right way.
If you’re looking for an SEO package for the first time, choose us too – for exactly the same reason.
Contact Us for an in-depth and no-obligation consultation on what exactly we can do for you in Website Design, SEO Services, and Digital Marketing campaigns.
