le Penguin algorithm update launched 11 years ago
Penguin, one of Google’s most important algorithm updates launched 11 years ago, is still relevant today. We’ll look back at more than a decade worth of Penguin.
Search Engine Land has covered Penguin’s impact from 2012 until 2021.
What was Google Penguin Update?
Google Penguin was a Google algorithm update that launched on April 24, 2012. to combat webspam. Penguin’s main focus was on link building, keyword stuffing, and general webspam.
Penguin, which was released after Panda and Page Layout algorithms, is not a new addition to the war against spam.
All these updates shared a common objective – to recognize and reward sites and content that provide a good user experience, and fulfill search intent. Penguin was a continuation of these efforts.
Penguin was believed to affect 3.1% of English queries and around 3% in German, Chinese, and Arabic. It was thought that Penguin would have a significant impact on SERPs.
Penguin was a big deal and affected a lot sites. This change was frustrating for SEOs and webmasters because they couldn’t appeal against an algorithm change.
Penguin was not a quick fix. Website administrators were warned that if they are hit, they must reduce the amount of spam on their websites.
Some sites never recovered. There was some debate about whether the algorithm had improved or harmed the SERPs.
Oh, there’s no doubt. Penguin & Panda brought about big changes but also improvements. Mobilegeddon also was an interesting event. It would be great to celebrate the first paid-link, but I’m sure people would fight for the honor.
Johnmu is not yet a chatbot (@JohnMu)
March 25, 2022
Since Penguin has a high influence on the algorithm, we can safely say that the SERPs improved, and webmasters and SEOs learned what spam is.
The Penguin update is not something that most site owners need to worry about. Webspam tactics like keyword stuffing, and link schemes are a no-no in the industry.
Why did Google Penguin launch?
Prior to Penguin, the number of links in the algorithm was weighted. This led to spammy or low-quality pages ranking higher than they deserved.
The number of links to the site was more important than the quality or content of the website.
Quantity is all that matters. It’s simple to manipulate. All you need is links.
Google provided examples of spammy web pages that included keyword stuffing, poor use of links and spammy page layouts.
Google shared an image showing unnatural linkage at the launch Penguin. Unnatural links between a blog about exercise and pages about payday loans.
Links like those above are useful for websites if link quantity is important.
The linked text is clearly unrelated to the content of the article. The link text also reads unnaturally in the context of the original article.
The content should not be ranked at all if it isn’t engaging and helpful.
The black-hat SEO technique used to manipulate SERPs is the link tactic shown above.
Penguin was created to identify and degrade websites that engaged in spammy link-building tactics while rewarding those websites with natural and high quality links pointing at their well-researched, well-written content.
Why was Google Penguin named?
Google named it Penguin but there is no known reason for its name, unlike the Panda Algorithm which was named after an important engineer. It was also the second new Google algorithm to be named after a black-and-white animal.
Google Penguin algorithm: What it is and how it works
Understanding how Penguin worked is important if you want to recover or understand where Penguin fits in the larger guidelines and algorithms.
Penguin is a webspam filter
Here’s some information to be unpacked.
Penguin was a spam algorithm that affected all websites on the internet at the same time.
New algorithm factors and crawling of sites were implemented. This algorithm is designed to prioritize high-quality websites that follow Google guidelines.
Penguin was created to combat spammy websites. The algorithm must take into account many factors including spam links and contents.
Penguin is not just about spam links or link farms.
John Mueller, Google’s John Mueller:
The Penguin algorithm is a Webspam algorithm, and we take into consideration a variety webspam issues…It also takes into account links that come from spammy websites or links in general…but i wouldn’t focus only on links. We often see that websites that spam links are also doing other things that may be borderline or in violation of our webmaster guidelines. I would not only focus on the links. I would make sure to clean up all webspam issues.
Penguin ignores spam and looks at individual pages as well as entire sites
Penguin’s purpose was to remove spam links from the algorithm. Penguin is thought to be capable of more than that.
Mueller is heard saying:
When we recognize that a link is spammy or problematic, we will ignore it. If we notice a pattern across a website, our algorithms will say that they have lost confidence in this website …’. We should be more conservative when it comes understanding the content of this website and ranking it on search results.
Penguin Recovery
It was not easy for SEOs to recover from Penguin. The long delays in between updates were frustrating.
The only way to fix the algorithm was by cleaning up spam on a website, which was not an easy task for most.
Google forms
There used to be reconsideration requests for sites that were previously flagged as spam. Webmasters could then request a second look at their site.
This is useful when a person has manually marked an email as spam.
Penguin was a change in algorithm. Google has announced that reconsideration requests won’t be accepted if the site suffered a loss since the Penguin update.
Webmasters were instead required to reduce spam on their websites. After a while, the sites will recover from Penguin and start appearing in SERPs.
There was some acknowledgement, however, that Penguin had a negative impact on sites.
Google has released a Form where webmasters can flag this issue. The same form can be used to report websites that should have been penalized.
Remove spammy links
The disavow tools launched on 16 October 2012 was one of the strategies to recover from Penguin.
Matt Cutts in 2012 explained when and how to use this tool.
is important to note that this tool wasn’t designed for the majority of websites, but rather for those 3% that use spammy links and manipulate SERPs.
You won’t require the disavow feature if you adhere to the guidelines and create your content with awareness.
Remove spam from the page
I had shared an image earlier of an article that spammed payday loans in an unnatural way from an article on exercising. Webmasters should remove this type of spam from their websites.
Keyword stuffing is another form of on-page spam. Google prioritizes content that is helpful to readers.
Before publishing any content, you should ask yourself, “Is this informational?” Does my content meet the search intent? This content is it helpful?
You may be surprised to learn that some of these items still exist today, even though they were created or updated more than a decade ago as part of the Penguin algorithm.
Google Penguin: Does it still exist?
Google Penguin is still part of ‘s core algorithm.
Mueller offers tips and insight on what site owners should do when their site has been flagged as spam.
This video, as you can see is very similar to a video that Cutts published 10 years ago.
Mueller suggests that you join the webmaster forums, and warns against hiding anything on your website.
Google Panda Updates: A timeline
From 2012 to 2021, here’s Search Engine Land coverage of Penguin:
April 24, 2012: Penguin Update 1.0
Google Launches the “Penguin Update”, Targeting Webspam in Search Results
April 25, 2012
Does Penguin Improve or Degrade Google’s Search Results?
April 26, 2012
Penguin Update Peck your site by mistake? Google has a form for that
Penguin Update: Google Webspam Algorithm gets Official Name
Google Penguin Recovery Tips and Advice
May 3, 2012
Adjusting Your SEO Strategies During Panda & Penguin
May 10, 2012
Two Weeks In, Google Talks Penguin Update, Ways To Recover & Negative SEO
May 14, 2012
5 Local Links Building Ideas for the Post-Panda/Penguin Era
May 15, 2012
Could You Be Sued for Linking to Others in the Wake of Penguin?
May 17, 2012
The Wall Street Journal Google Penguin Update
May 21, 2012
Bing offers advice on Google’s Penguin update: Diversify
May 26, 2012: Penguin Update 2.0
May 29, 2012
First report of Google Penguin Recovery
May 31, 2012
Google Penguin & Panda Now in Coffee Shops & Elementary Schools
June 11, 2012
Four keys to a happy post-Penguin Directory submission
Aug. 16, 2012
Google: More Penguin Update “Jolts”, Panda Smoother and Monthly
Oct. 5, 2012: Penguin Update 3.0
Google Penguin Released Update 3, Impacts 0.3% of English-Language Searches
EMD Update: Expect More Refreshes Like Panda & Penguin
Feb. 20, 2013
No! Google hasn’t released unannounced Penguin updates
March 11, 2013
Matt Cutts, Google’s Matt Cutts, On Upcoming Penguin & Panda & Link Networks
March 19, 2013
Google Penguin Update is becoming more strict over time, according to a new study
April 23, 2013
How to Prepare for the next Penguin update?
May 10, 2013
Google Matt Cutts: The next generation of the Penguin update is “just a few weeks” away
May 22, 2013
Penguin 4 with Penguin 2.0 Generation Spam Fighting is Now Live
May 23, 2013
Google Results Still Showing Post-Penguin Spam? Please let Google know.
Penguin 2.0.0 Losers: Game Sites, Porn Sites & Big Brands Like Dish.com and The Salvation Army
June 3, 2013
June 18, 2013
Is Link Building Alive? Three Tips for Link Builders After Penguin 2.0
Oct. 4, 2013:
Penguin 5 With The Penguin Spam Filtering Algorithm 2.1 Is Now Available
April 8, 2014
Does Google’s Penguin Algorithm Have Different Degrees Of Graduation?
May 28, 2014
No, Google says there’s been no Penguin update
July 30, 2014.
Penguin – Google’s Punitive Algorithm and a Call to Google To Fix It
Sept. 12, 2014
After a year, will we finally get a Penguin update refresh?
Oct. 2, 2014
Google Penguin Refresh Could Come as Early as Next Week
Oct. 19, 2014
Google Releases Penguin Version 3.0 – First Penguin Update in Over a Year
Oct. 21, 2014
Google Penguin 3: Still in the process of worldwide rollout, impacting 1% of English queries
Nov. 4, 2014
Google Penguin 3.0 continues to slowly roll out worldwide 18 days after its launch
Dec. 1, 2014
Google Penguin 3.0 rollout still ongoing
Dec. 3, 2014
Are We Nearing The End Of Penguin & Panda Era Recoveries And Shakeups?
Dec. 4, 2014
Was Your Site Hit By Google’s Panda Or Penguin? This flowchart may help you find out.
Dec. 10, 2014
Google says Penguin will shift to “continuous updates”
Dec. 11, 2014
Google Penguin 3.0: How It’s Playing Across The Web
Feb. 11, 2015
Google says there’s no whitelist to save you from Panda or Penguin
April 8, 2015
Google says that the Penguin & Panda Algorithms still require manual data pushes
April 13, 2015
Google Panda & Penguin Lack Real-Time Updates, Despite Google’s Past Statements
June 2, 2015
Google: The Penguin Update is being implemented continuously
July 13, 2015.
Google says Penguin Refresh is months away
Oct. 1, 2015
Google Confirms the Real Time Penguin Algorithm is Coming Soon
Oct. 29, 2015
Google’s Next Penguin Update is Scheduled for the End of 2015
Nov. 17, 2015
Preparing for the Penguin Update and ensuring you’re penalty-free in 2016
Dec. 3, 2015
Google’s Penguin Algorithm Update Will Not Happen Until Next year
June 23, 2016
Takeaways from Google AMA on RankBrain: Panda, Penguin and more
Sept. 6, 2016
Since when was the last Google Penguin update?
Google’s Friday update is not a Penguin algorithm update
Sept. 23, 2016: Penguin Update 4.0
Google Penguin is now running in real-time within the core algorithm
Sept. 28, 2016
Google Penguin doesn’t penalize for bad links – or does it?
Google Penguin recovery has begun now
Sept. 30, 2016
Link building & authority with Penguin
Oct. 10, 2016
Google Penguin is mainly interested in the link source of your website.
Google labels links as “footer” or Penguin-impacted
Oct. 13, 2016
Google Penguin 4.0 Rollout Complete
Oct. 25, 2016
Penguin 4.0.0: Improvements that are necessary and positive
Oct. 27, 2016
A Penguin’s Tale – Responding to the Latest Update
Nov. 1, 2021
Google’s Penguin algorithm aims to ignore spammy sites but can cause your site to be distrusted
The article Google Penguin update: 11 years ago first appeared on Search Engine land.