Few algorithm updates have shaken the SEO industry like Panda
and Penguin. Many SEOs confuse the two, believing that Penguin is an
extension of Panda. This is not entirely true, though there is a
relationship between the two. Both address quality issues and
manipulative practices, but in totally different ways. However, there is
a relationship between Panda and Penguin for link builders, as getting
links from pages that have been caught by either update is not
advisable.
As the algorithms have evolved in how they evaluate the web, so must SEO best practices for website development and promotion.
Panda Safe Link Building
Panda has little to do with off-site link building. Generally speaking, Panda is an algorithm dealing with on-page and on-site quality. It can affect the entire website if there are too many low quality pages, but the inbound links to each page are not the main target of the algorithm.
Ensuring that target pages are high quality is vital in order to get the most from any link building campaign. This can be done by using dynamic sidebar navigation plugins, careful and descriptive interlinking, media rich pages with useful and unique content, and avoiding duplicate content issues.
Pages that adhere to these principles will have no problem remaining Panda compliant and earning a high quality score in the algorithm or from a human reviewer.
Link Building in a Post Penguin World
Penguin is the algorithm specifically dealing with link spam. Any link that is bought or manufactured solely for the reason of manipulating rankings may be classified as link spam by the search engines.
The key is to get links from quality pages on related websites. Sites that have their own audience and can send traffic through a link pointing to a page on your site are the best source of quality inbound links.
Any Penguin friendly link building campaign with a chance of withstanding future iterations of the algorithm will include extensive relationship building and outreach. Social media sites like Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook are ideal for forging connections and building the relationships that lead to links.
What about Anchor Text?
Anchor text is a recurring theme when discussing the Penguin update. Current evidence indicates a penalty may occur when exact match and buyer intent keywords (typically two word phrases) make up 60% or more of the links pointing to a page.
When conducting any outreach activities with the purpose of building or requesting links, focusing on brand names, bare URLs and a smaller usage of exact match anchors seems to be the best and safest practice.
Be Specific, Be Useful
Finally, if an SEO strategy puts little emphasis on exact match anchors, how can Google determine what a page is about? The answer is to optimize the body copy without keyword stuffing, and to optimize title tags and meta descriptions for the target keywords. Quality inbound links from relevant articles to pages with proper on-page optimization will handle the rest.
It Is Simple, But Not Easy
SEO is not difficult. Link building is a taboo term in many circles these days, but for those who invest the time and effort to acquire the high quality, hard to get links, the payoff is incredible.
As the algorithms have evolved in how they evaluate the web, so must SEO best practices for website development and promotion.
Panda Safe Link Building
Panda has little to do with off-site link building. Generally speaking, Panda is an algorithm dealing with on-page and on-site quality. It can affect the entire website if there are too many low quality pages, but the inbound links to each page are not the main target of the algorithm.
Ensuring that target pages are high quality is vital in order to get the most from any link building campaign. This can be done by using dynamic sidebar navigation plugins, careful and descriptive interlinking, media rich pages with useful and unique content, and avoiding duplicate content issues.
Pages that adhere to these principles will have no problem remaining Panda compliant and earning a high quality score in the algorithm or from a human reviewer.
Link Building in a Post Penguin World
Penguin is the algorithm specifically dealing with link spam. Any link that is bought or manufactured solely for the reason of manipulating rankings may be classified as link spam by the search engines.
The key is to get links from quality pages on related websites. Sites that have their own audience and can send traffic through a link pointing to a page on your site are the best source of quality inbound links.
Any Penguin friendly link building campaign with a chance of withstanding future iterations of the algorithm will include extensive relationship building and outreach. Social media sites like Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook are ideal for forging connections and building the relationships that lead to links.
What about Anchor Text?
Anchor text is a recurring theme when discussing the Penguin update. Current evidence indicates a penalty may occur when exact match and buyer intent keywords (typically two word phrases) make up 60% or more of the links pointing to a page.
When conducting any outreach activities with the purpose of building or requesting links, focusing on brand names, bare URLs and a smaller usage of exact match anchors seems to be the best and safest practice.
Be Specific, Be Useful
Finally, if an SEO strategy puts little emphasis on exact match anchors, how can Google determine what a page is about? The answer is to optimize the body copy without keyword stuffing, and to optimize title tags and meta descriptions for the target keywords. Quality inbound links from relevant articles to pages with proper on-page optimization will handle the rest.
It Is Simple, But Not Easy
SEO is not difficult. Link building is a taboo term in many circles these days, but for those who invest the time and effort to acquire the high quality, hard to get links, the payoff is incredible.
