It’s the moment webmasters have been waiting for: Google Penguin 2.0 was rolled out on May 22, 2013, leaving noticeable changes for 2.3 percent of English-US queries.
The new algorithm is intended to have a large impact on web spam, as it’s not only newer and more up-to-date, but also it delves deeper into the actual site pages. Previous Penguin algorithms looked mainly at a site’s home page, but 2.0 is more thorough and identifies web spam in small places. The update has also been rolled out to non-English queries. Languages that have more web spam will see more noticeable changes.
SEO Updates
When Matt Cutts, Google’s head of search spam, first announced the update, webmasters tried to uncover the details as to what they could expect. With previous Penguin updates leaving some sites severely impacted, it’s no surprise that SEOs would anticipate when Penguin 2.0 would hit – and how. After all, some sites still haven’t recovered from previous algorithm updates.
Although limited, Cutts has been giving us insight as to what we can expect from Penguin 2.0. He promised webmasters that although the update would be big, sites that have been following good SEO practices wouldn’t have much to worry about. Like previous updates, Penguin 2.0 is aimed at black hat SEO tactics and making sure that sites that use them don’t outrank higher quality sites.
Positive Changes
Now that the update has been rolled out, webmasters can expect many positive changes over the next few months, such as more information for websites that have been hacked as well as URLs to diagnose the integrity of the site. The new changes are also aimed at identifying sites that are authorities in their industry, helping them to rank better.
Even more exciting is that Penguin 2.0 has promising perks for small and medium sized businesses that tend to get passed over in search rankings by their larger counterparts. Penguin 2.0 is really leveling the playing field so that all sites with good quality SEO, regular content and relevant links have the same opportunities.
There’s no doubt that SEOs will be watching intently for how Penguin 2.0 has impacted their site over the summer months, but Cutts assures us that at the end of the day, the goal is to have a good quality website that people enjoy. For more information regarding the recent Penguin update, check out this Google video.
