The Booster Seat Episode 11: Google’s Penguin 3.0 Release
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Hey there Boosters! Welcome to another episode of The Booster Seat. Today I’m going to talk about the Penguin 3.0 update.
So when we talk about Penguin 3.0, or any Penguin update for that matter, we are talking about spammy links. Google targets spammy-looking links and link profiles. Now in looking at your link profile, you want it to look GRAND.
Genuine
You want your links to be real and genuine, from real sources online, from credible sources that you like, as these will be in your link profile. To use an analogy, links are like votes back to your websites. Now, if you’re going to manipulate the search engines like SEO has done a lot in the past, you’re going to make those links not genuine. You’re going to manipulate it by creating too many links that just aren’t real. Remember, links are votes back to your website, so votes from genuine resources are rewarded while those that aren’t are penalized by Penguin.
Relevant
This is a huge topic in the SEO industry, but it’s kind of new in talking about links – it’s new.
Having a plumber link to a computer shop – that doesn’t seem as relevant as linking a plumber to a supplier of plumbing supplies. The more relevant your links are, the higher quality your site will be and the stronger your link profile will be. Less relevant links mean the more likely you are to be impacted negatively by a Penguin update.
Authoritative
Having links from authoritative places online is one of the most beneficial types of links you can get. There are two sides to having authoritative links. There is the relevant side – having someone who is authoritative in your industry is very powerful. Going back to a previous example, if a plumbing supplier links back to you local plumbing shop, that is complete relevant AND it’s from an authoritative source. The next part of authority is considering the actual metrics of the website itself. A more authoritative website has more traffic to it, it’s obviously indexed with Google (you do NOT want a link from a site that has been de-indexed by Google or penalized), and other aspects of the site that have to do with the authority.
Numerous
Don’t be fooled – “numerous” doesn’t just mean “more.” It means more quality links. As the saying goes, “Quality over quantity,” and that is very applicable here. But, if you can have quality and quantity, why not do that? More, great links are still a huge benefit to your SEO campaign.
Diverse
Your link profile is a way for Google to see if it is spammy or not. So, having too much of one thing can be bad. A few Penguin updates ago, they really targeted anchor text. Having your anchor text be exact – that’s spammy! That’s not diverse or natural or organic! The same goes with having too many “follow” or “do not follow” links, or too many links from high authority domains and not enough from low authority domains. There is a balance to your link building profile and when you look at it, you want to make sure that it looks natural – that’s what Google is looking for. Natural = diverse. Another thing that diversity helps with is when you’re not putting all your links in one basket.
So remember, in looking at your link profile, you want it to be GRAND (Genuine, Relevant, Authoritative, Numerous, and Diverse.) I’d love to hear your comments and questions!
Stay cool!
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