When the Panda algorithm updates was pushed out by Google, and we were adapting accordingly, in the meantime on April 24th Google launched another weapon as Penguin to crack down those websites who employed unethical on-and-off page SEO techniques as well refreshed it on May 25th.
As consequences, many websites lost their healthy amount of Google organic traffic overnight. In order to help those influenced website to recover had one thing in common: an unnatural link profile where most of their links sits in low quality and poor website including overblown optimized anchor text.
However, this post will make site owners to learn about how to diagnose whether their site were influenced by Penguin as well as check it out whether the factors was off-page.
Identifying a Hit from Penguin
- In order to comprehend this we will employ Google Analytics. Therefore, the first thing you are required to open your analytics.
- As Penguin hits the organic traffic drives through Google, you are supposed to analyze all other traffic sources.
- In context of viewing your organic traffic, you are required to explore your analytics page and click over Traffic Sources > Sources > Search and then organic.
• Next, you are required to eliminate the source of traffic from non-Google search engine as Penguin only used to hit organic traffic comes from Google. Now, click on source and then on Google.
• Now, you are supposed to be looking at the page showing Google organic traffic for your site. If a sharp downfall of traffic graph appears on 24 April or 25 May then there is high probability that your site has been influenced by Penguin. As for example, take a look over the snapshot of website below which was hit by Penguin on April 24. In the case if drops appears which are consistent with those dates, then might be your site was influenced by Google Panda or any other update.
• Here, it’s become very necessary to weigh the previous traffic in context of ensuring a true drop rather than of calling to normal levels of traffic. Now, analyze the overall patterns of traffic from last few month then week-over-week and eventually month-over-month comparison.
• Next, you are required to analyze the most affected keywords. You can find out this on the same page of Google organic traffic and select as Secondary Dimension > Traffic Sources > Keyword.
• However, in the case if Penguin hit sites at the level of keyword. You can analyze it in the same way. Just go ahead to weigh the traffic over equal span of time from pre-Penguin and post-Penguin in order to designate what keyword has been impacted.
• In account of analyzing the top keywords who lost traffic as well as overall downfall in traffic, it can be assumed that the site has been influenced by Penguin and you are required to address this problem.
Analyzing Your Link Profile
• Here, we are supposed to perform insight analyzing to find out whether it an off-page issue that tends the downfall in traffic. However, for a while if you suppose your website was not hit by Penguin, though it is advisable to analyze all your link profile to designate any cause for concerns, if so. Therefore, for this purpose, I recommend to employ Open Site Explorer in order to filtering all your website’s links by using the setting specified below prior to downloading the excel file:
• Now, you may execute that Excel file via Link Detective, which widely known as a free tool which is capable to classify the distinct kinds of links pointing to your website as well as anchor text automatically.
• The report procured by Link Detective will be look something like below:
• First thing you should do is to eradicate the dead links in context of getting more appropriate link profile.
• Still there are tons of unknown links you are supposed to deal with, but 50 percent of links which are differentiated as a type is available to see. The top three are considered as poor sources which are unlikely to pass more (if any) authority – comments, footer and directories.
• Towards next step, you are supposed to export an Excel file from ‘Link Detective’ in order to categorize unknown links manually in order to congregate an absolutely accurate value.
• Later, you may analyze the distribution of anchor text. Click on Anchor Text tab in order to go through the breakdown:
P8
• However, it supposed to be an excellent example of unnatural anchor text discrimination. Recently, Microsite Masters unfold a pool of data and conclude that once a website exceed more than 65% of their links optimized with anchor text then they are highly potential to get influenced by Penguin.
• Finally, after accomplishing these steps, you might have a good overview whether your site was hit by Penguin or not as well as whether your link profile comprises anything to perform with.
How to Address the Problem
In order to decide how to address the problem is basically depends upon your individual situation. In many cases, website attempt to perform some significant step like serious link clean-up.
However, removing links from low quality, poor and de-indexed sites is literally a perfect place to initiate. Moreover, elimination of link and including quality natural links will be valuable to those