Stephanie Morris - Bayshore Solutions Account Associate

By: Stephanie Morris – Bayshore Solutions Emarketing Team

Understanding Google Panda & Penguin

I’m sure, by now, you’ve heard how Google’s turning into “Zoo-gle” with Panda & Penguin on the loose. Who would have thought that two adorable, innocent animals could cause such mayhem in the SEO world?!
So, first things first…What is Google Panda & Penguin and what actions should website owners take? No, we’re not talking about the cute black & white animals you see at the zoo. We’re discussing two of Google’s extreme algorithm updates!

Google Panda Update

What is Google Panda?

Google Panda is somewhat similar to Kung Fu Panda, in a sense that they both do not take any nonsense from anyone! (For those of you who don’t know the movie, Kung Fu Panda, I highly recommend you watch it!) But to stay on track, let’s not confuse the two. Kung fu Panda is a fictional karate fighting panda, whereas Google Panda is a real search results ranking algorithm.
Google Panda is aimed to lower the rank of low-quality sites and return higher-quality sites to the top of search results. Google Panda is pretty much a content quality filter. Meaning, unique and relevant content is KEY. Google Panda targets content farms and websites with heavy amounts of duplicate content & pages.

How to Avoid Google Panda

1. Avoid Duplicate Content – Every page on your website should have 100% unique and original content.
2. Link to Articles, Don’t Publish – Rather than copying and pasting an article you like onto your website, it is best to link to an article’s webpage. If you copy and paste it to your website or blog, it is considered duplicate content.
3. Avoid Shortcuts – Whether it is buying links, copy and pasting content, or link wheels, avoid anything that promises fast ranking improvement! Though this may bring fast results, eventually Google Panda will punish your website, and trust me, they will!

Google Penguin

What is Google Penguin?

This is one kind of Penguin you and your website do not want to mess with!  Google Penguin is another Google Algorithm update that was announced on April 24, 2012. This update put tighter guidelines on website optimization and adjusted a number of web spam factors, such as keyword stuffing, unnatural links, content spinning, duplicate content & more.  Simply put, Google Penguin targets web spam. So if you’re playing by the rules, you shouldn’t be affected.

How to Avoid Getting Pecked by Google Penguin

• Do not create multiple pages, sub domains, or domains with duplicate content. Switching a word or two accounts for duplicate content, as well.
• Don’t create pages with malicious behaviors, such as malware, viruses, etc.
• Make sure to include relevant keywords per page
• Avoid keyword stuffing. Typically a page should include 3-5 keywords and should flow smoothly within the content
• Avoid hidden text or hidden links
• Whatever you do, don’t buy links to increase your page ranking.
• All in all, don’t try to trick Google and your website shall be fine!

So there you have it! Follow these rules to stay far away from getting karate kicked by Google Panda or pecked by Google Penguin. If you want to see penguins and pandas, we recommend going to the zoo NOT ruining your website!

In order to avoid this from happening to your website, we strongly recommend hiring an expert to keep your ranking high and you website Panda & Penguin free! At Bayshore Solutions, we can now proudly say we are not only SEO experts but zoo keepers in the making!

Stephanie Morris is an Account Associate at Bayshore Solutions—a Tampa Web Design, Web Development, and Internet Marketing Company.