Impact of Google Penguin Updates
– Penguin affected approximately 3.1% of search queries in English.
– It affected about 3% of queries in languages like German, Chinese, and Arabic.
– Highly spammed languages had an even greater percentage of affected queries.
– Penguin 1.1 was released to affect less than one-tenth of a percent of English searches.
– The update penalized websites using manipulative techniques to achieve high rankings.
– Penguin updates can result in fluctuations and reversals in search rankings.
Google Penguin Updates
– Penguin 3 was released on October 5, 2012, and affected 0.3% of queries.
– Penguin 4 (Penguin 2.0) was released on May 22, 2013, and affected 2.3% of queries.
– Penguin 5 (Penguin 2.1) was released on October 4, 2013, and affected around 1% of queries.
– Penguin 3.0 was released on October 18, 2014.
– Penguin 4.0 (7th Penguin update) was announced on September 23, 2016, and is part of the core algorithm.
Penguin Feedback and Reporting
– Google prepared a feedback form after the Penguin update for reporting web spam.
– The form was designed for two categories of users: those reporting web spam that still ranks highly and those who believe their site was unfairly hit.
– Google also provided a reconsideration form through Google Webmaster Tools.
– John Mueller suggested that building good links can help remove a Penguin penalty.
– The algorithm looks at the percentage of good links versus bad links.
– Manual Actions report provides information on penalties imposed by Penguin.
– Feedback on algorithm updates helps Google improve Penguin’s effectiveness.
– Google Search Console is a tool to monitor website performance and potential issues.
– Webmasters can use Google Search Console to disavow bad links.
– Google’s official blog provides announcements and updates on Penguin.
Confirmed Penguin Updates
– Penguin 1 was released on April 24, 2012, impacting around 3.1% of queries.
– Penguin 2 was released on May 26, 2012, impacting less than 0.1% of queries.
– Penguin 3 was released on October 5, 2012, impacting around 0.3% of queries.
– Penguin 4 (Penguin 2.0) was released on May 22, 2013, impacting 2.3% of queries.
– Penguin 5 (Penguin 2.1) was released on October 4, 2013, impacting around 1% of queries.
Other Related Topics
– Google Panda is another algorithm update aimed at displaying higher quality websites in search results.
– Google penalty refers to actions taken by Google against websites violating its guidelines.
– Google Hummingbird is a search algorithm update focusing on understanding search queries better.
– RankBrain is a machine learning component of Google’s search algorithm.
– Mobilegeddon refers to Google’s algorithm update favoring mobile-friendly websites.
Google Penguin was a codename for a Google algorithm update that was first announced on April 24, 2012. The update was aimed at decreasing search engine rankings of websites that violate Google's Webmaster Guidelines by using now declared Grey Hat SEM techniques involved in increasing artificially the ranking of a webpage by manipulating the number of links pointing to the page. Such tactics are commonly described as link schemes. According to Google's John Mueller, as of 2013, Google announced all updates to the Penguin filter to the public.
