So we are all aware of the obvious truth that Penguin update was meant to scrape out those websites from SERP, which have been into unethical SEO practices. Now the big question is what is meant by the term “unethical SEO practices”?
It sounds really vague and can be explained in innumerable ways. As Google has not given any straightforward rules as to what SEO practices might get your websites into trouble, apart from the value things like Keywords spamming, link coming from unrelated websites etc.
Probably this is the reason why everyone around, including myself is a bit confused about how we are supposed to realign our marketing strategy (ok, let’s get it straight – call it “Link Building strategy”). So that we are not crossing the danger line drawn by Google. Read more about Google Penguin Update.
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Penguin Update And Sudden Death Of Natural Linking
Why Everyone Around is Scared To Penguin Update?
Though I am not supporting the cause of Penguin (to be honest some of my clients’ websites have got affected too, but keep it secret), what I feel is that Penguin update was long overdue. In the pre-Penguin era. SEO companies were going too far with their optimization process that includes buying thousands of links from crappy websites, engaged in shoddy link exchanges, submitting same articles in thousands of articles directories, spamming forums and blogs and a lot more.
So, Google had to act and here this is. But what disturbs me is the misconception of people. People have now started believing the fact that they need to remove all links from unrelated links even if they are coming naturally. So, do not get surprised, if you get a mail in one fine morning requesting you removing certain links.
Why Penguin Update Is So Serious?
The point is that links coming from irrelevant sites are not necessarily bad. Penguin update was not against earning links, rather it is against the concept of building links. So, if you see your website has earned a link from a domain, which is not strictly related to your website’s theme, do not lose your sleep over it.
This is quite natural and if I am not completely mistaken, probably Google is looking for exactly this thing. It is nearly impossible that a website gets all inbound links from niche websites, at least it will not be natural link profile.
So, it is quite likely that your website will have some inbound links coming from unrelated websites and some cases, might have few links coming from bad neighborhood sites (it happens, do not be so sad). This is perfectly natural, so do not be so serious about it and spoil the beautiful day.
Why People are Scared of Linking Out?
As I have repeatedly said that there is no issue having a diversified back link profiles, there are some people who become paranoid ( or have gone nuts) with their back links profile. They believe that Google will unleash terror on their website if a single bad or unrelated link points to their website.
So, out of panic, these people are policing every links pointing to their website and that means, when you dare to link to them out of generosity, you will get a mail like this –
Dear Webmaster,
We have noticed that you have added a link to our website without prior information. Please take down the link as this is hurting our web presence and unable to do so may result in taking legal action against your website.
Yours faithfully,
Finicky Panicky
But this kind of paranoid mindset is just ruining the natural linking habitat. I dare say that this is what Google is looking for.
So, quite evidently, natural linking is dying as people are scared the hell out of those bloggers who do not charge a penny for adding a link or two in their posts just to make the post more informative to the users. And this is how we can get a overall idea about Google Penguin Update And Sudden Demise Of Natural Linking.