Google Penguin’s algorithm

Google is the most popular search engine in the world – it captures over 86% of the market. In 2020, Google processed a mind-blowing 7 billion searches a day! Here’s a review of the top three searches from the past few years: 2018: World Cup, Hurricane Florence, and Mac Miller 2019: Disney Plus, Cameron Boyce, and Nipsey Hussle 2020: Election Results, Coronavirus, and Kobe Bryant When people perform searches, Google sifts through a flood of online content and ranks it by relevance and popularity. Over 90% of visitors click on first-page Google results because those websites are synonymous with quality content. How does Google keep its top results high quality? In 2012, Google introduced Google Penguin – a complex algorithm for detecting and penalizing websites that try and cheat the system through fake links and keyword stuffing. What Is Google Penguin? Ranking high on Google search isn’t a matter of luck. Google is very clear about what they expect from websites. It posts its Webmaster guidelines publicly for everyone to read. Websites that follow these guidelines have a higher chance of ranking near the top of results. What happens when website creators break these guidelines? That’s a question Google wanted to address in their 2012 search algorithm update. Developers designed Google Penguin’s algorithm to search for indicators of websites manipulating the system to steal top result spots – then penalized those websites by pushing them further down in search results. [bctt tweet=”Developers designed Google Penguin ? to search for indicators of websites manipulating the system to steal top result spots – then penalized those websites by de-ranking them. Learn why it still matters for SEO today.” username=”ExpWriters”] Some of the indicators Google Penguin looked for were poor-quality links. These are spam links or links that people purchased with the sole purpose of making a website appear higher quality than it is. Google reported over 3% of search results saw the effect of Google Penguin’s new algorithm. How Update 4.0 Changed Google Penguin Google Penguin went through seven significant updates over the years: Google Penguin – April 24, 2012 Google Penguin 1.1 – March 26, 2012 Google Penguin 1.2 – October 5, 2012 Google Penguin 2.0 – May 22, 2013 Google Penguin 2.1 – October 4, 2013 Google Penguin 3.0 – October 17, 2014 Google Penguin 4.0 – September 23, 2016 The last Google Penguin update, Google Penguin 4.0, brought an end to separate updates. Instead, Google Penguin became part of the core algorithm. The algorithm itself didn’t change. What changed is how Google connected to Penguin. With Google Penguin as part of the core algorithm, websites saw immediate results in their search rankings. Website content creators no longer look at Google Penguin updates for the latest guidelines on website content, but at Google’s algorithms as a whole, since they’re now the same. Another change that took place with Google Penguin 4.0 is how Google punished websites that cheated the system. Screenshot: Search Engine Journal The new update doesn’t punish websites as severely as previous versions. The first Google Penguin updates penalized whole domains for spam links – causing webpages to sometimes drop out of results entirely. Penguin 4.0 only penalizes subpages and specific URLs. The new Penguin update also allows websites to regain their rankings faster by correcting faulty links. The 5 Steps of Google’s Search Algorithm Today What does Google’s algorithm look like today – and how can your website rank on the first page? Google lists five steps that it takes every time someone performs a search. Using these five steps to customize your content, you can gain high rankings while avoiding penalties from Google Penguin. 1. Interprets a Person’s Meaning When you enter a search into Google, the search engine analyzes not just the individual words – but the semantics of your search. This analysis consists of correcting misspellings, including synonyms in results, and identifying the context of the search. Content creators benefit from this algorithm because it means you don’t have to know the exact words people are searching for. Your blog post on “The 5 Best Ways to Clean Your Car” also has a chance to rank when people search “best ways to clean your vehicle”. 2. Finds the Most Relevant Results Have you ever heard of keywords? They’re one of the two most important ranking factors. A keyword is a term or phrase that’s used repeatedly on a page. Repeating a keyword helps Google identify that page as a relevant result for a topic. For example, this post’s keyword is “Google Penguin”. When people search for information on Google Penguin, Google will see how often this post mentions their algorithm and is more likely to suggest a reader visit our website. Not all keywords are equal. Over 92% of keywords get fewer than ten monthly searches. That’s because people don’t always search for the keywords content creators use. If you want to know what keywords people search for, try two easy methods: 1. Begin a search query on Google and write down Google’s suggested searches. 2. Search your page’s topic – then scroll down to the bottom of your search results for related searches. [bctt tweet=”Want to find out what keywords people actually use? ? 1) Search for a topic on Google. ? 2) Write down Google’s suggested searches (the autocomplete text that pops under the search box) and related searches (at the bottom of the page).” username=”ExpWriters”] You can learn how to use keywords most effectively on your site by enrolling in the Expert SEO Content Writer Course. 3. Assesses the Quality of Websites How does Google know if a website is reliable? First, Google’s algorithm looks for popular websites. As people visit, comment, and interact with your site – your site moves up in rankings. Second, Google looks at inbound and outbound links. When other websites link back to your content, Google sees this as a sign that you produce high-quality content. The more sites that link to your website, the … Read more