THE GOOGLE PENGUIN UPDATE

Forget Panda, there's a new Google update that's changing up the search algorithm in the form of Google Penguin and it already has its very own Downfall meme.

What is the Google Penguin and who does it affect?

Released last week on the 24th of April, the Google Penguin targets websites which are over optimised by unnatural links and web spam tactics.

Google are particularly targeting poor quality content that uses keyword stuffing or links on high quality sites which don't correspond with the content to achieve high ranking pages. 

According to Google the new update should only affect 3.1 percent of English languages queries with a stronger impact for queries in languages where spamming is more prevalent. Despite the fact that Penguin is only to affect a small minority, there are already numerous reports online of websites being affected by changes in the SERPs.

What to do if you think you have been affected?

Websites that employ white hat SEO tactics to naturally build links shouldn't be affected and may in fact see an improvement in the SERPs as a result from the Penguin update. If however you have seen a drop in the SERPs as a result of the update then there is a feedback form to report any issues or if you think you have been unfairly penalised.

If you have been employing spam tactics though, Google won't be accepting any reconsideration requests that we have reported . The best option moving forward is to clean up any spam content, start focusing on white hat tactics and ride out the storm.

On a side note, one has to wonder if the guys in charge of naming the Google updates were influenced by historyof Penguins at Edinburgh zoo being jealous of the attention the Pandas were receiving.