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Preparing Your Backlink Profile For The Google Penguin 3.0 Update

By Tinuiti Team

A new Google Penguin update is no longer a rumor, but now the main focus is when the update will hit. Recently in a Google+ Hangout John Mueller was quoted as saying “engineers are working on it [Penguin 3.0]” and admits that it is “not far away”. Since we know a Penguin 3.0 update is on the horizon, it is important to make sure your site is prepared.

Update 10/20/14Google Penguin 3.0 was released on Friday October 17, 2014 and affects fewer than 1% of search queries.

The last time we had seen a Penguin update from Google was Penguin 2.1, which was launched in October 2013. Not only has it been almost a full year since the last update, but we continue to see black hat SEOs adapt and more spammy results are being shown in competitive SERPs. Also, since the launch of the first Penguin algorithm update in April 2012, Google has refreshed the update on a consistent basis of around two times a year. All of these signals suggest a Penguin update from Google much sooner than later.

What Can We Expect from Potential Google Penguin Update?

With a new Penguin update, we can expect to see Google holding up its values to enforce search relevancy and penalize sites who continue to manipulate Google’s search results. Personally I believe this Google algorithm update will focus heavily on low quality backlink strategies and over-optimized anchor text usage.

Throughout the SEO community it is believed this will be a full algorithm refresh rather than a small update, which means that Penguin will continue to enforce negative or questionable SEO tactics. As always with Google, just because a tactic worked in the past does not mean it is still practical today. We have seen this in the past with many link building strategies such as forum & comment links, guest blog posting, and directory link building. This is why it is so important to keep up with Google’s updates and industry news.

How to Protect Your Site for Penguin 3.0

We all know a major update is on its way so now is the perfect time to take the right precautions and prepare your site for the Penguin 3.0 update. Listed below are a few precautionary actions you can take with your backlink profile ensure your site will not be penalized:

Audit Inbound Links

Focus on Anchor Text

Avoid Paid Links

Irrelevant Links

Avoid Foreign Domains

By performing an audit of your backlinks, monitoring new incoming links, and following Google’s guidelines you can assure your site safe passage through the next Google update. Don’t be afraid to use your outreach skills to ask for links to be changed to “no follow”, and make sure you use Google’s Disavow Tool for any suspicious links you cannot get manually removed. Penguin 3.0 is on its way and coming very soon, but it isn’t all doom and gloom if you prepare your sites correctly.

Learn how Elite SEM helped two online retailers remove Penguin manual link penaltiesClick here to download the Penguin penalty removal case study

Here is a recent video on Penguin 3.0 I did with my colleague Tony Edward

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