Is Penguin Permanent?

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The penguin update is considered a penalty right? How long do these "penalties" normally last? Or are they permanent?
#penguin #permanent
  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
    Banned
    Simple answer: your site is screwed until it complies with what Google wants. Whether or not that is forever is up to you.
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  • Profile picture of the author minisite
    The penguin penalty is not permanent and it only affects those websites with spam links If you're one of those webmasters who received an email from G00gl5 regarding websites getting penalized for shady spam links then simply remove the spam links and apply for reconsideration.
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    • Profile picture of the author alphadude
      You just have to manipulate the backlinks so it is to Google's liking.
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      • Profile picture of the author dmtaylor247
        Originally Posted by alphadude View Post

        You just have to manipulate the backlinks so it is to Google's liking.
        LOL very funny
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    • Profile picture of the author dracoboar
      Originally Posted by minisite View Post

      The penguin penalty is not permanent and it only affects those websites with spam links If you're one those webmasters who received an email from G00gl5 regarding websites getting penalized due to so shady spam links then simply remove the spam links and apply for reconsideration.

      this is actually not completely accurate.

      It affects all websites that have link anchortext that google considers over optimized, to many exact match keywords as a percentage.

      Although spam links might be part of the equation even quality links can overoptimize a site.


      As far as the OP NO it is not permanent. It is an algorythm panalty which means one your links are no longer over optimized it should self correct. this is an easy fix for internal pages by just changing the urls, for the home page this can be a real problem.
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    • Profile picture of the author .
      Originally Posted by minisite View Post

      The penguin penalty is not permanent and it only affects those websites with spam links If you're one of those webmasters who received an email from G00gl5 regarding websites getting penalized for shady spam links then simply remove the spam links and apply for reconsideration.
      Clearly u have no idea what you are talking about
      penguin is not a penalty
      is an update.
      and if u think u can simply remove spam links and go back... you are dreaming
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      • Profile picture of the author minisite
        Originally Posted by rankinghero View Post

        Clearly u have no idea what you are talking about
        penguin is not a penalty
        is an update.
        and if u think u can simply remove spam links and go back... you are dreaming
        OK I misinterpret what Penguin is all about. Big freaking deal. And Google did sent out messages to tons of webmasters about inappropriate backlinks to their websites to warn them about it because it can eventually affect their ranking in the long run.
        If you make meticulous records of your backlink like I do, then you can certainly go back and remove them, that is if the backlinks are editable. So, I don't dream. I make things happen.
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  • Profile picture of the author adamv
    The algorythm is constantly changing. Nothing on the internet is permanent. Not to mention the fact that there have been so many crappy results coming up in the serps that something will have to be done soon to correct it.

    There have been many examples on this forum and in other forums of pages with zero content ranking well for competitive keywords as well as serp results that are completely irrelevant to the search query. These results can not possibly be permanent. One thing that I am certain of is that there will be many more updates to the algo.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
      Originally Posted by adamv View Post

      . Not to mention the fact that there have been so many crappy results coming up in the serps that something will have to be done soon to correct it..
      This is a pipe dream. There are overall few crappy results for the major things people search for. In a recent interview Google indicated they are happy with the results. Any changes going forward are more likely to tank Imers sites more not help them.
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      • Profile picture of the author RevSEO
        Originally Posted by Mike Anthony View Post

        This is a pipe dream. There are overall few crappy results for the major things people search for. In a recent interview Google indicated they are happy with the results. Any changes going forward are more likely to tank Imers sites more not help them.
        To be fair, I can't think of a single Algo update in which Google didn't say it was a success. Every "update" regardless of how bad it has been, has always been a success in Matt Cutts and Google's eyes.

        Going back to the topic, Penguin is not even close to the final algorithm update. I wouldn't doubt they've already updated Penguin a ton since it's original launch. That's how algorithms work, especially when you are dealing with things at a LARGE scale like Google needs to do.
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  • Profile picture of the author alfid
    I am pretty sure that it is permanent unless you are able to make changes to your site that Google likes.
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  • Profile picture of the author plsearch
    Matt cutts just said that there is no need to file reinclusion if your site was hit during or near april 24th (but you didn't get a WMT notice). What you have to do is clean up your link spam and or on page spam and it will recover naturally.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mantasmo
    The Penguin update is not a penalty. It's also not a real time update. Penguin is iterative (just like Panda), so whatever changes you make now might not show any results until they "run" the filter again.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
    This isn't an algo change its a filter so it is a permanent thing. Fix your site if you have problems but the filter isn't going away
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  • Profile picture of the author rizoalbert
    Its depends on your site.If you did lots of spammy works then it'll be permanent.Otherwise your site will back soon in SERP.
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  • Profile picture of the author himanuzo
    I believe that Google regularly update its search algorithm, so Penguin algorithm is not forever.
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  • Profile picture of the author Danny Cutts
    penguin is not a penalty its just an algo update :-)

    if you have link spam just build more links of better quality to dilute the spammy ones out of the equation :-)

    Look natural and try and please your visitors :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author CyborgX
    Don't need to panic. Google Penguin is similar like Google Panda but with more eye on Original and remove more spams from search engine so you have to be more careful with Penguin as its more advanced than Panda.
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  • Profile picture of the author unikbit
    first you need to find out what is your website link profile. If the graph shows that not being in the same shape as your competitors you need to change:

    - if the graph shows you have too many links compared to competitors you need to delete links
    - if the graph shows that you have a normal profile you need to change link anchor text.
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  • Profile picture of the author dbwebdesignz
    It will remain in place, i fail to see why Google will punish people for something and then take it back later as they are aiming to create a better search for its users.

    If you comply with their terms then you will be just fine
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  • Profile picture of the author Dale01
    Banned
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    • Profile picture of the author dukerutherford
      Google algorithms constantly changing, Google Penguin will surely have its version updates just like Panda however if you follow Google's guideline in acquiring links you wont hit by this updates.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ettienne
    Nothing in life is permanent.
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    • Profile picture of the author tentimes
      Originally Posted by Ettienne View Post

      Nothing in life is permanent.
      Death is permanent.
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  • Profile picture of the author GeraldNitram
    Whatever has been changed by Penguin will remain that way until you comply with what Google has been telling the webmasters to do about the quality of their site, or when Google decides to roll out another algorithm update. If Google has given you a notice that you're doing something dodgy, I suggest that you get a move on to solve that if you don't want the effects of Penguin on your site to stay forever.
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  • Profile picture of the author HorseStall
    Google appears to be happy with the changes as a result of Penguin, that is not to say they will not tweak it. In SEO/SEM nothing remains unchanged for very long ;-)
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  • Profile picture of the author laprihat
    yeah, penguin made me crazy.. i think it seems as panda but more powerful.
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  • Profile picture of the author Suzanne Morrison
    If you've been affected by Penguin, there is no point in submitting a reconsideration request as the update was algorithmic. It is likely that you triggered an over optimization threshhold related to the anchor text of your backlinks.

    If you can analyze your backlink profile and clean things up, this will help.

    A reconsideration request could put you in a worse position than before as you'll have your site scrutinized by a Google employee.

    Cheers,
    Suzanne
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  • Profile picture of the author Velant
    I can't recall Google ever withdrawing their algo updates saying "sorry guys, it was a joke, let's roll back now!". So if your site(s) suffered it's most likely due to spammy backlinks and/or overused anchor texts. Partially could be due to onsite overoptimiation as well, but the above two are more likely.

    With regard to filing reconsideration - it may work, but you have to make sure that all "unnatural" backlinks in your profile have been removed, and that's often very difficult (if not impossible) to do as you normally don't fully control them.
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  • Profile picture of the author dbdnvikas
    No, To get the penalty lifted from your website. Do what Google Says.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tjalling
    One of the first steps to recover from Panda is creating a Contact page and a Privacy Policy on every single site you have! Google simply loves it even more after those two important changes.

    I also know a few things that will help to recover from Penguin:
    - Do research on your own backlinks.Try to keep your backlinks about 50/50 relevant and non relevant. Which means you should vary with the anchor text. Also include nofollow links
    - Avoid every form of spammy links
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  • Profile picture of the author NewYorkerRocks
    Nothing lasts forever, so there will be constant changes to come my friends.
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  • Profile picture of the author SwedishDemocracy
    I'm pretty sure it's permanent. Google made another algorithm update, now the ball's in our court to adapt.
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  • Profile picture of the author minisite
    Try to trace back the backlinks that you've created in the last couple of months and remove those that you think that are spam backlinks or that might seemed spammy to G00gl5 search engine. And if you have backlinks from Blog networks ask the administration/owner to remove your links from their network.
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  • Profile picture of the author Pyramid Linkers
    The Penguin update is not a penalty, but its effects are far reaching. From this point on, SEO will be difficult for those who are A. lazy or B. Don't want to invest in their business. The more shortcuts people take, the more "permanent" their Penguin results are going to be.
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    • Profile picture of the author minisite
      Originally Posted by Pyramid Linkers View Post

      The Penguin update is not a penalty, but its effects are far reaching. From this point on, SEO will be difficult for those who are A. lazy or B. Don't want to invest in their business. The more shortcuts people take, the more "permanent" their Penguin results are going to be.
      Yup, shortcuts will eventually do a lot of damage to your hard work and online earnings. But I have to admit that a lot of us are addicted to instant gratification because maybe human's brain might be wired that way. I think if your website obtain thousands of spam backlinks in past then it will be almost impossible to remove every single one of those spam backlinks.
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  • Profile picture of the author uoftenwinny
    Yes, it is an update.
    But it may be good for some websites , bad for other sites.
    But Google still likes fresh or unique contents.
    It's not so sure.
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  • Profile picture of the author jasono
    You can never say that the penguin update is permanent. There will still be lots of changes that google will follow-up. Now if you are one of those people that do black hat SEO, then get ready
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    • Profile picture of the author minisite
      Originally Posted by jasono View Post

      You can never say that the penguin update is permanent. There will still be lots of changes that google will follow-up. Now if you are one of those people that do black hat SEO, then get ready
      I have a feeling that the next penguin update will be even more stringent that it will mostly benefit major retail stores such as BB, W@lsmart who tend to have deeper pockets.
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  • Profile picture of the author rinkugarg
    we can't never assume that penguin will be permanent. Will see next update very soon..
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  • Profile picture of the author shophia
    Originally Posted by Keep Trying View Post

    The penguin update is considered a penalty right? How long do these "penalties" normally last? Or are they permanent?
    It's all depend on google.Google have time line for each and every update. So, it's not permanent.
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  • Profile picture of the author SarahMcCrary
    Penguin update penalty is not permanent. Go to webmasters and get rid of suspicious backlinks that you find. Ask the site owner where ever you have submitted your website. After you're done with this, wait for some time and your website will be back on track.
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  • Profile picture of the author jasono
    Penalties are always permanent but if you get penalized and it was an error/mistake, then google should fix them. I've heard a few people that were telling that the penguin update was not perfect. Yes it did hit people who were doing black hat SEO but also those who were doing it naturally.
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  • Profile picture of the author guest
    I've got a feeling that all you affected are seeing some sort of "sandbox" drop -- and eventually - as google recrawls links, and sites --> One's that it considers good. Your sites will start to go back up the ranks.

    It may takes weeks/months - and some sites may never come back.

    But i think good sites, with good content - and real links that people have posted on real sites that google give PR to - will eventually start to rank again for their terms.


    Everyone panicking -- removing links, changing their sites - because of a drop in rank of a WEEK. are crazy!

    You will never know now if your site would have come back or not.

    I've changed a few meta keywords before - and my sites rank has changed. How do you know that what you are doing is not making things worse?

    Leave your site - wait a few weeks, see how it goes.

    That would be my opinion.

    Hope you guys recover from this. I hope google manages to get the quality back to the top soon.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sclark
    Allow me to dispell a couple of myths here:

    1. Penguin is not a penalty.

    Penalty is manual action. When a site gets reported or someone files a DMCA complaint, Google may demote that site in the search results or remove it from its index. But Penguin is not that, it's a change in Google's ranking algorithm, which means that now sites are ranked on a different basis!

    2. Penguin is not permanent.

    It's like when you go to a barber shop to get a haircut - it's not permanent. They will continue to make changes to Penguin and be rolling out more updates. So, things will change for sure.

    3. Reconsideration request is not useless

    Sometimes it's really hard to tell what hit you. So, unless you've been into something pitch black hat or really sneaky, you can always file a reconsideration request to see if there was a penalty or not.
    Because, if there wasn't any, Google will send you a standard reply form, saying that your problems are not due to penalty. Which may be good to know.
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  • Profile picture of the author Madisonseo
    If you have control of where your backlinks builded you can fix easily. But if is a easy keyword, it's best to buy a new domain and make 301 redirect from the old domain.
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  • Profile picture of the author jetsetter883
    Penguin is not a penalty nor was that ever implied. It is an algorithm change ie: a tweak to the mathematical formula that Google uses to rank websites for relevance
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