The much anticipated rollout of Google’s Penguin 4.0 arrived on 23rd September and we’re already seeing the big changes in search results.
Previous Penguin updates have taken place intermittently whereas this update is in real-time. This means that if your site is properly optimised and well managed, you’ll see the benefit more quickly. You’ll also see that penalties can be lifted more quickly.
Of course, if there’s a problem with your site, or you’ve got some poor quality links coming to it, you’ll feel the pinch straight away. (As always, Google is keen on clamping down on link spam with its latest Penguin update. It’s likely that Google collects data from disavow information in order to automatically detect spam sites and apply search result impacts in real-time across the board). On the positive site, good links can have an overnight impact on keyword position.
From a penalty management point of view, there are some positives. It’s thought that penalties are no longer being applied site-wide but that pages are now being ranked individually on their own merit. This is good news if you’ve properly optimised your site, page by steady page.
So where does this leave us? We’ve seen many rankings improve significantly as a result of the update. For those companies which have played by Google’s rules but been frustrated by competitors who have been less ernest, it’s been well worth the wait. Well built, properly optimised websites which meet their customers’ needs will see the pay off for their hard work.
If you would like us to review your rankings and understand how your site may be affected by Penguin 4.0, please get in touch.
