Google Releases The Penguin 2.0 Update

Google’s Penguin 2.0 Update has arrived. The latest version of Google’s webspam algorithm specifically targets black hat webspam i.e. keyword stuffing and link schemes.

From Google’s webmaster central blog:

“In the next few days, we’re launching an important algorithm change targeted at webspam. The change will decrease rankings for sites that we believe are violating Google’s existing quality guidelines. We’ve always targeted webspam in our rankings, and this algorithm represents another improvement in our efforts to reduce webspam and promote high quality content. While we can’t divulge specific signals because we don’t want to give people a way to game our search results and worsen the experience for users, our advice for webmasters is to focus on creating high quality sites that create a good user experience and employ white hat SEO methods instead of engaging in aggressive webspam tactics.”

So if the focus of your website has been the creation of useful, quality content and you’ve grown your audience organically, the Penguin 2.0 Update won’t affect you at all. If you’ve used black hat methods to boost your page ranking, it certainly will.

In this blog, Matt Cutts clearly states that Google tolerate white hat/ethical SEO but that they prefer websites that use no site engine optimization at all.

3.1% of English language queries will be effected and roughly 3% of other major language queries will see a noticeable degree of change.

Google Page Rank 101

The higher your website ranks in the Google search engine the more opportunities you’ll have to generate business which increases the value of your website for direct sales and this is inturn makes you more appealing to advertizers which will further increase your website revenue.

So in this post I’m going to discuss some basic ways you can move your website from the back of the heap to the front page for your keywords. Think of this as the beginners guide and over the coming weeks and months we will work our way up to intermediate and advanced levels.

Here’s 5 basic ways to begin moving your website up in the Google rankings:

1. High quality content: offer your visitors original content that makes your website stand out from the crowd.
2. Identify 3 Keywords: research and select three keywords relevent to your niche and target these in your website title, description, texts and backlinks.
3. Submit your URL: take the time to submit your website to every high ranking search engine and website directory you can find.
4. Consistent SEO: Be consistent with Search Engine Optimization with regard to your texts. For example, be sure to feature your keywords in your blog posts.
5. Quality Backlinks: Be sure to create quality backlinks to your website and blog posts using social bookmarks and by interacting with other websites and blogs. Avoid backlink spam from low page ranking websites at all costs as these will negatively impact your SERP.

Welcome to Power Social Media

I started this blog because like many webmasters I’m always looking to discover new ways to expand my social media footprint. Sometimes it’s challenging to find reliable sources of information help us to reach our social media goals. So I will share what I learn on my quest to create high page ranking websites and a corresponding solid social media presence for my projects.

Feel free to leave tips, suggestions and questions in the comments. When I discover something that works, I will post a review at this site. Guest bloggers on the topic of social media are very welcome to submit articles.

So there you have it!

Enjoy this site and use it to achieve social media success!