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If you were around and had enough assets to get impacted back when Penguin first was implemented, you'll remember... Google's goal was to harm link spammers.
The specific problem was two fold:
Google's "claim" was that their algorithm already ignored and devalued spam. So what was the point of Penguin then?
Penguin did two things for/to spammers:
That, as I mentioned in the title, was the Problem & Opportunity surrounding Penguin.
It took some time. Google needed two things (my third list of two things!):
They've made no mention that anything would be different other than it's constant re-evaluation of it's contents.
However, here's the reality. If it doesn't happen now, it's coming. That means there's a huge opportunity for some and a huge problem for others.
It means that the SERPs are going to reshuffle heavily soon. And you can poise yourself to reap the rewards.
The Solution is de-weighting a lot of link metrics. These would include the power of anchor text, the number of referring domains, the number of links, etc. Each one of those would derive their weight from the new additional factor: Relevancy.
Here's the thing. It's not an additive or multiplicative ranking factor like the rest.
Typically you might think of:
What this does is leverages Google's understanding of semantics and synonyms to assign a new weight to the existing factors to make sure their SERPs are highly relevant.
Yes, you can manipulate this. But you shouldn't. Because thresholds are still going to exist, they are just going to shift their focus towards trust and authority.
So the question becomes:
You can still cheat that, sure. But the ROI is reduced dramatically. How do you pull it off and make it worth your while?
You should be tackling both. High volume of normal users and laser targeting high power, but low volume users where you can manually increase your chance of success.
To summarize with industry terms: Traffic Leaks & Outreach.
Everything else will soon provide even more diminished effects than they already do. And those authorities ranking on the current factors prior to the addiction of the Relevancy Multiplier are going to drop... IF AND ONLY IF you're there to replace them.
Will you be ready?
The specific problem was two fold:
1) First, it was that you could buy links in bulk based on which platform hadn't been devalued yet (or re-valued). Social Bookmarks had their moment in the sun, as did guestbooks, blog comments, and much more.
2) Second, it was that you could use the same anchor text over and over and shoot to the top.
2) Second, it was that you could use the same anchor text over and over and shoot to the top.
Google's "claim" was that their algorithm already ignored and devalued spam. So what was the point of Penguin then?
Penguin did two things for/to spammers:
1) It exposed the truth that Google could not and was not currently devaluing spam algorithmically
2) It set up thresholds based on percentages, which were dynamically based on your niche, vertical, or keyword set. If you passed these thresholds, which represented natural averages, then you were penalized once the filter processed.
So Google killed a ton of assets out there in the wild, but it also taught spammers how to circumvent the problem.2) It set up thresholds based on percentages, which were dynamically based on your niche, vertical, or keyword set. If you passed these thresholds, which represented natural averages, then you were penalized once the filter processed.
That, as I mentioned in the title, was the Problem & Opportunity surrounding Penguin.
So what's the Solution?
It took some time. Google needed two things (my third list of two things!):
1) A list of all of the crappy domains that allowed do-follow links to be placed by spammers. (disavow lists)
2) Time to focus on content relevancy beyond just analyzing the words used in anchor text.
The new Penguin should be rolling out literally any minute. Googles says that it is no longer an off-line, side filter, but it will become a part of the constantly updating live algorithm.2) Time to focus on content relevancy beyond just analyzing the words used in anchor text.
They've made no mention that anything would be different other than it's constant re-evaluation of it's contents.
However, here's the reality. If it doesn't happen now, it's coming. That means there's a huge opportunity for some and a huge problem for others.
It means that the SERPs are going to reshuffle heavily soon. And you can poise yourself to reap the rewards.
The Solution is de-weighting a lot of link metrics. These would include the power of anchor text, the number of referring domains, the number of links, etc. Each one of those would derive their weight from the new additional factor: Relevancy.
Here's the thing. It's not an additive or multiplicative ranking factor like the rest.
Typically you might think of:
A + B + C = your ranking weight
But the new reality would be...
A*Ra + B*Rb + C*Rc = your ranking weight, where R is relevancy
So every single ranking factor off-page would now be multiplied by a relevancy factor. If it's relevant (meaning the on-page content of the page linking to you is related to the page it's linking to), then you'd get a multiplied number of anything over 1.0. If it's not related or only tangentially related then your number would become less than 1.0, which would decrease the power of that factor. If the page you get a link on is directly related, that number could rise to 2.0 or higher, making it extremely powerful for you.
What this does is leverages Google's understanding of semantics and synonyms to assign a new weight to the existing factors to make sure their SERPs are highly relevant.
Yes, you can manipulate this. But you shouldn't. Because thresholds are still going to exist, they are just going to shift their focus towards trust and authority.
So the question becomes:
How do you get Trusted, Authoritative, and Relevant links all at once?
You can still cheat that, sure. But the ROI is reduced dramatically. How do you pull it off and make it worth your while?
You become a marketer again (or for the first time in your life).
You create amazing content and get it in front of either a high volume of people and let them share it around, or you get those in control of culture to share it, meaning high-profile magazines, bloggers, news sites, forums.
You create amazing content and get it in front of either a high volume of people and let them share it around, or you get those in control of culture to share it, meaning high-profile magazines, bloggers, news sites, forums.
You should be tackling both. High volume of normal users and laser targeting high power, but low volume users where you can manually increase your chance of success.
To summarize with industry terms: Traffic Leaks & Outreach.
Everything else will soon provide even more diminished effects than they already do. And those authorities ranking on the current factors prior to the addiction of the Relevancy Multiplier are going to drop... IF AND ONLY IF you're there to replace them.
Will you be ready?
