Matt Cutt Explains Penguin 2.0 Update
Matt Cutts has confirmed the arrival of the long-anticipated Penguin 2.0, an update aimed at combating web spam. The update was rolled out on Wednesday, May 22nd and is expected to affect 2.3% of English web queries. The update has also been rolled out across other languages world-wide and may have a higher impact on languages with a greater tendency for web-spam.
This is the fourth Penguin update that Google has rolled out over the past year, but because this update is a modification to the algorithm and not just a refresh, it has been dubbed ‘Penguin 2.0.’ In relation to Penguin 1.0, this update “goes much deeper and has a really big impact in certain small areas.” Penguin 2.0 is expected to have a noticeable effect on web spam, and in consequence, will also have a heavy impact on some websites’ rankings.
In this video, Matt Cutts explains Penguin 2.0 in more detail and what changes it will bring.
Have you been hit? Here’s what to check for:
1. Do a manual check for your top keywords and for your own business name. If you no longer rank for your business name or top keywords, there’s a significant chance you’ve been affected negatively by the update.
2. Keep an eye on your traffic in Analytics. The release is still fairly fresh, so it may take a few days to notice a drop-off, but a significant decrease in your traffic is a good indication that your website has been hit.
If you have any questions about this update, how it will affect your site, or how to recover if you’ve been hit, please contact us!
Submitted by Erica Machin, Titan Growth