Google’s Panda And Penguin Updates Are Great For Bloggers, Marketers And Businesses

• What it comes down to is who you are creating your content for. It should always be created with the end user (consumer) in mind, not the search engines. Of course, it’s important to go back and optimize content where it’s applicable to do so- but thinking too much about the search engines can lead to bad decisions.

  • Agreed Nick. I think the distinction lies in whether the content is more valuable to the reader, or to the author.

    The author has to make a return, but not at the expense of wasting the reader’s time. IF your content is valuable (as opposed to highly SEO’d), then you deserve to make revenue from it because you have given something in return.

• I have read almost 15 blogs today, all were talking against panda and penguin, your post the only post, I’m reading where author seems happy with “Google’s Panda And Penguin”..but I would say, google panda was not successfull, since most it shows irrelevant result just based on search query matching with “domain name”

  • Google sometimes messes things up and this can lead to erroneous results. Of course, if someone is mistakenly penalized (which has happened before), then they have a right to be upset.

    Regardless of hiccups in the algorithm (my site has also disappeared from search before), on the whole, Google’s aim is to return the highest quality content (not the best SEO’d).

    That is the right aim, since it is the value of your content/message/information that is important.

• “Why? Because they aren’t creating great, useful, funny, engaging, interesting and valuable content with only the recommended amount of “good practice” SEO”

  Your wrong David. You like Google are looking though a microscope, and are missing some important considerations. You are only considering blogs and article sites. Many business sites are not meant to provide fresh information – they are meant to acquire customers. For example, a lawyer’s website explains what he does, and what he offers. The site is not meant to give away all of the advice that would normally be paid for by the client. ANd social media? Please. Why would a defense attorney need to have Twitter followers?

  I’ve seen many business websites get clobbered by this update, and it reallt is a shame. Has Google no regard for the businesses?

• Hi Bill,

  I agree that business websites that don’t employ SEO over optimization or web spam shouldn’t be penalized. They aren’t.

  The reality is this:

  If I am a defense attorney looking to grow my business online, I should be able to create useful and informative articles that drive traffic to my site. In the online playing field, I should do better than a defense attorney with a static page – I am investing more time and effort into growing my business online.

  It’s not the defense attorney with a static business page who is being punished by Panda or Penguin. It’s just that he isn’t doing anything to put himself out there and shouldn’t expect to appear above defense attorneys who do.

  Also, I agree that defense attorneys may not need twitter followers.

  The reality is this:

  If I, as a defense attorney, go and look for people, communities, and connections online – specifically with a view to finding people who can refer me to new customers – I should get more business from social networks than someone who doesn’t.

• It’s amazing to me that Google hasn’t been slapped with a class action under promissory estoppel. Their guidelines were clear, they offered placement and thus traffic in exchange for certain site design standards, people invested massive dollars and effort into websites, Google listed sites in their search engine, and then Google arbitrarily changed the standards. From the thousands of complaints I’ve read on the web about this, Google has done serious damage to small business. What’s worse is that the quality of search seems to have also declined in the process.

• Hi David,

  Whilst I understand that nothing substantial that is automated can be perfect – like Google’s ranking algorithms – but your views on this update are simply incorrect.

  I have created a website that is aimed at a very specific target audience. Over nearly 3 years, I have created around 150 unique pages of useful information on the topic. Each page is a result of my own experience and knowledge – none of it is a rehash of information from other websites, nor a duplication of information that is already available on the Internet.

  The photos on my website have either been taken by myself (95% of the images) or else are legitimately used under license from their respective owners (5% of the images).

  Offline, in the non-digital world, I have had over 100 articles published in an assortment of magazines and trade press publications – so, I have little doubt of my ability to create well-versed text.

  Indeed, the content from my website is constantly being copied by other websites and I am continually issuing DMCA notices in an effort to keep my content from being duplicated- that, in itself, should be a good indication that others value the quality of my content.

  I have not been engaged in blackhat marketing, nor spammy backlink building tactics.

  I have been actively building backlinks and advertising my online presence by making guest posts on related blogs, making *meaningful* contributions that provided *added-value* information on user forums, creating unique and informative posts on websites such as hubpages and squidoo, posting *useful* and *informative* blog comments on topic-related blogs and engaged in the community that exists online in my topic area.

  Over the last two years, an increasing number of visitors to my website have contacted me for specific information regarding my topic area which I have always answered without payment as I simply love the fact that other people share my enthusiasm for this particular topic.

  Now, with the latest Google update, my website has vanished from Google’s SERPs and the websites that now appear on the front page of Google are bland and insipid and barely scratch the surface of the knowledge that I offer on my website.

  My website was never intended to be a money making venture – it is definitely not a “made for adSense” website, nor an attempt to “get rich quick” – indeed, I was merely making enough to cover hosting costs etc.

  But, now I am thinking: Why the **** should I continue sharing my passion on the Internet when, because of Google’s war on spam, nobody is ever likely to see my efforts ever again?

  Now, I hate the spam and scam websites as much as the next person. But, this latest update from Google could well be the company’s “MySpace” moment…

  Matt Cutts has constantly issued the mantra: Create good content. Create informative content. Create useful content. Engage with the online community. Interact with your readers. Then Google will consider your website an authority and rank it appropriately.

  You seem to be saying in your post that you believe that is what the outcome of this latest update will help promote.

  If that is so, why do I feel as though I have been arbitrarily kicked in the teeth without even the slightest hope of a reply?

  • Hi Robert,

    From what you say, there should be no reason that your site should fall down the SERPs. Targeting legitimate sites, I’m certain, is not the intention of Google.

    Perhaps take your case to one of the Google employees? As mentioned in the article, it has happened before that legitimate webmasters have complained – leading to the discovery and correction of algorithmic bugs.

    My site disappeared completely for two months a few years back. I went crazy trying to find out why – there were no messages, or reasons given. It came back eventually.

    Having a legitimate complaint about a problem with Google’s implementation, is separate from the goal of Google to cut out webspammers (people who benefit disproportionately to the quality of their content).

    Ultimately, if enough people are disgruntled, they should take their search business elsewhere and empower another company to compete – breaking the monopoly would no doubt be healthy for the search industry.

  • Robert:
    Your comments are interesting. I am a physician who created a “homemade” website on a health problem that I have expertise in with all orginal and unique content. I had obtained the .pro prefix which can only be provided to those who provide a professional license. My site went from the top of the first page to the bottom of the seventh page within the last few days for the relevant keywords. I do admit to purchasing links but felt that I, with my small marketing budget, needed to get the site visible as it was languishing for quite a while with low ranks.

• I think this is the perfect example of quality over anything else. Having fresh content regularly posted on blogs, I think, is enough to propel a website to get a good ranking.

• very comprehensive analysis of this i have been blogging about it as well. There is alot of confusion and misconception about the over optimization. I am looking forward to the next update to see the outcome. My most recent blog is http://www.seo-hop.com/newseostrategiespanfecta/

• my blog disappeared in google results althought it is still availabie in other search engines. Pl help…………

  • Do not panic and undo your hard work. Try to find what might have caused this to happen and resolve those things.

• If you can concentrate on what you are doing, you will realize that the error and the resolution to the errors are right there.

  If you find it difficult write to us at [email protected] and we will suggest you

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