There is a growing sense of excitement/trepidation around Google’s next algorithm update, Penguin 4.0, which Google recently confirmed will be rolled out before the end of 2015.
In the Summer, Google’s Webmaster Trends Analyst Gary Illyes announced that they were working on a continuously running update to Penguin, and on October 28th he responded to a Tweet asking whether he thought the roll out would be this years with a simple “Yes”.
He also replied with an equally simple “No” when asked if there was a confirmed date.
What is Penguin?
Goggle first launched the Penguin update in April 2012, with the aim of catching and penalising sites that were violating their quality guidelines, primarily with regards to spammy backlink profiles.
Penalties were issued to sites that were trying to rank higher by using old school black hat link building techniques such as high volume/low quality backlinks, forum posts with embedded links, keyword stuffing, and various other link schemes.
What’s different about Penguin 4.0?
Penguin 4.0 is expected to be a continuously running, real time update, which will be able to update itself automatically without relying on manual refreshes.
This means that sites not sticking to the rules could be slapped with penalties much more quickly, but also recover quicker if speedy action is taken to fix the offending issue.
For example, if Google finds a bad link to your site, the penalty could take effect immediately, having a negative affect on your rankings. On the plus side though, if steps are taken to disavow or remove the offending link, the penalty could also be removed in real time.
What does this mean for your site?
Once the update is rolled out, it will be more important than ever to keep a close eye on your rankings, and have a reputable SEO company on board who understand the implications of this coming update – particularly if your site has been affected by previous Penguin updates.
Connected have been providing quality Search Engine Optimisation services for years – focussing well built, quality WordPress websites adhering to all the SEO best practices and generating useful, quality content, rather than spammy link building.
If you’re concerned about the impact Penguin 4.0 could have on your site, give us a call and we’d be happy to review your site and flag any potential issues so they can be resolved before the roll out takes place.
To find out more about our WordPress websites and SEO services, email us at [email protected] or find us all over social media.
