Google Algorithm Update: Pandas, Penguins, EMD, Knowledge Graph, Pigeon, HTTPS, & Recovering from PenalDes

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1 2014 State of Search Google Algorithm Update Google Algorithm Update: Pandas, Penguins, EMD, Knowledge Graph, Pigeon, HTTPS, & Recovering from PenalDes

2 2014 State of Search Google Algorithm Update About Me Senior SEO Strategist, Globe Runner Brand Ambassador, MajesDc SEO Personal Blog: PracDcing Organic/Natural SEO since 1996

3 2014 State of Search Google Algorithm Update - Overview Overview Google Panda and Penguin Updates Google EMD Update Google Page Layout Update Google Knowledge Graph Update Google Pigeon Update HTTPS vs HTTP Secure Sites Manual AcDons Recovering From PenalDes

4 2014 State of Search Google Panda What is Google Panda? Ranking factor added to the Google algorithm Filter designed to idendfy low quality pages. Provides bewer rankings for high- quality sites Panda is integrated into algorithm, ayer two years Named ayer Google engineer Navneet Panda

5 2014 State of Search Google Panda Google Panda History Rolled Out to US sites on February 24, 2011 hwp://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/finding- more- high- quality- sites- in.html Rolled out Globally to English language users on April 11, 2011 Also began to roll out data from sites that users block Panda #25 March 14, Panda updates now on rolling update schedule Panda Dance, Panda Recovery, June and July 2013 Panda 4.0 #26 May 19, 2014 Panda 4.1 #27 September 23, 2014

6 2014 State of Search Google Panda Google Panda Update History Panda/Farmer February 23, 2011 Panda 2.0 April 11, 2011 Panda 2.1 May 9, 2011 Panda 2.2 June 21, 2011 Panda 2.3 July 23, 2011 Panda Goes Global (2.4) August 12, 2011 Panda 2.5 September 28, 2011 Panda "Flux" October 5, 2011 Panda 3.1 November 18, 2011 Panda 3.2 January 18, 2012 Panda 3.3 February 27, 2012 Panda 3.4 March 23, 2012 Panda 3.5 April 19, 2012 Panda 3.6 April 27, 2012 Panda 3.7 June 8, 2012 Panda 3.8 June 25, 2012 Panda 3.9 July 24, 2012 Panda August 20, 2012 Panda September 18, 2012 Panda #20 September 27, 2012 Panda #21 November 5, 2012 Panda #22 November 21, 2012 Panda #23 December 21, 2012 Panda #24 January 23, 2013 Panda #24 March 14, 2013 Panda Dance June 11, 2013 Panda Recovery July 18, 2013 Panda 4.0 May 19, 2014 Panda 4.1 September 23, 2014 See the Google Algorithm Change History: h5p://moz.com/google- algorithm- change

7 2014 State of Search Google Panda Were You Hit by Panda? Look at your web analydcs Sites affected had traffic loss stardng in February, Google AnalyDcs for your site (Web Trends, Omniture, etc.) SEM Rush for most sites (SEMRush.com) How many sites recover? hwp:// panda/

8 2014 State of Search Google Panda Recovering from Google Panda Make sure all content on site is high quality Review Google s List: 23 QuesDons to assess quality hwp://bit.ly/1ghzzqb IdenDfy and remove least- visited pages Take out the trash, so to speak. Prevent PogosDcking from SERPs. Wait undl next Panda update to see recovery (about a month)

9 2014 State of Search Google Panda vs. Google Penguin Panda vs. Penguin Panda focuses on sites providing a bad user experience - Sites with low quality content Penguin focuses on spamdexing and link bombing.

10 2014 State of Search Google Penguin What is Google Penguin? Google: algorithm change targeted at webspam. hwp://insidesearch.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/another- step- to- reward- high- quality.html Goal is to decrease rankings for sites that violate Google s Quality Guidelines. hwp://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=35769#3 Examples: Keyword Stuffing, Over OpDmizaDon Unusual linking pawerns (outgoing links)

11 2014 State of Search Google Penguin Google Penguin Update History First reported April 24, 2012 Penguin #2 May 25, 2012 Penguin #3 October 5, 2012 (0.3 percent of queries) Penguin 2.0 (#4) May 22, 2013 Penguin 2.1 (#5) October 4, 2013 Penguin 3.0 (#6) October 17, 2014

12 2014 State of Search Google Penguin Were You Hit by Google Penguin? Look at Google AnalyDcs, Google Webmaster Tools, review dates of Google Updates.

13 2014 State of Search Google Penguin Were You Hit by Google Penguin? Using Google AnalyDcs, look at organic traffic only. Click on AcquisiDon > Keywords > Organic Exclude brand keywords Include dates prior to April 2012 (when Penguin rolled out) Look for traffic drops on: Apr 24, 2012, May 25, 2012, Oct 5, 2012 May 22, 2013, Oct 4, 2013, Oct 17, 2014 (or various dates since Oct 17, 2014)

14 2014 State of Search Google Penguin Recovering from Google Penguin Perform a full SEO Audit of web site IdenDfy and fix problem areas on site that violate Google guidelines (keyword stuffing, over opdmizadon, etc.) Review Google Webmaster Tools for messages, suggesdons Perform full link analysis of site, and CLEAN UP BAD LINKS - Download links from MajesDc, OSE, ahrefs - Review anchor text, clean up links to site - LinkResearchTools.com for further cleanup

15 2014 State of Search Google Penguin Recovering from Google Penguin Disavow Links to Site (upload text file of URLs) domain:badlink.com or hwp:// domain.com/has- a- bad- link.html Link Research Tools Link Detox Boost claims quick recovery Work on Authority, Trust of site and get new earned links Wait undl next Penguin update to see recovery, somedmes two Penguin updates

16 2014 State of Search Google Penguin 5 Reasons Sites Hit by Google Penguin Won't Recover 1. You Haven't Done a Thorough Enough Link Cleanup 2. Improper Disavow 3. Wait for a Penguin Refresh 4. Site Doesn't Have Enough Good Links to Rank Well 5. Other Factors Are Holding Site Back

17 2014 State of Search Exact Match Domain Update EMD Update Exact- Match Domain (EMD) Update September 27, 2012 Should be called the Commercial Phrase Update. But for PR purposes, I realize why Google calls it the EMD update. Google targeted commercial phrases with this update. AdWords CPC Cost + # Searches Per Month = Commercial Phrase Example: $5.00 CPC + 20,000 Searches Per Month = Commercial Phrase Valuable Domain Names include Keywords (commercial phrases) Not all keyword rich domains affected Sites without keyword rich domains were affected Recover by cleaning up your link profile, especially anchor text Link Profiles should have 70 percent or more brand anchor text, company name, URL as anchor text.

18 2014 State of Search Page Layout Update Google Page Layout Update Page Layout #2 October 9, 2012 Targets pages with too many ads above the fold Algo proof: content above fold, minimal ads above fold. Page Layout #3 February 6, 2014 hwp://selnd.com/1qnv6de

19 2014 State of Search Knowledge Graph Update Knowledge Graph Update Knowledge Graph Expansion December 4, 2012 Get your site, org, business into Knowledge Graph. DFWSEM.org hwps:// Knowledge Base Data Refresh November 1, 2014

20 2014 State of Search Google Pigeon Update Pigeon Update Local Search Pigeon Update for Local Queries July 24, 2014 Affected local search queries, cityname + keyword searches How Google uses a searcher's locadon Many 7 packs now missing on queries Takeaways: Neighborhood boundaries widened Different industries, different effects

21 2014 State of Search HTTP vs HTTPS: Secured Site a Ranking Factor HTTPS Secure Site Ranking Factor Having hwps secure site is now a ranking factor HTTPS isn t just for ecommerce sites anymore. Google announcement Aug 8, 2014: hwp://bit.ly/movetohwps John Mueller on reasons to switch to HTTPS: Data Integrity hwps ensures no one is altering your content AuthenDcaDon trust you are the one serving the content I moved my site to HTTPS. AYer my move from HTTP to HTTPS:

22 2014 State of Search Google Manual Actions Manual Actions in Webmaster Tools Partial Match affects certain pages Full Match affects whole site Unnatural links both require link cleanup, review

23 2014 State of Search Manual Actions Manual Actions Unrelated to Penguin Unnatural link warnings are not related to Google Penguin Sites affected by Penguin should clean up links Manual acdons more severe, require reconsideradon request

24 2014 State of Search Manual Actions Getting Manual Actions Revoked Unnatural Links? Clean up links, document everything. IdenDfy all links to site Combine GWT, MajesDc SEO, Ahrefs, OSE links Manually review links (Link Research Tools can help) IdenDfy links to remove Contact site owners, document s, contact dates, etc. 3 awempts to contact site owners Disavow links not removed Request Review: include lewer, spreadsheet with data proof

25 2014 State of Search Manual Actions and Link Cleanups Finding/Combining All Links to Site Find every link to your website possible, even old links. Google Webmaster Tools MajesDc SEO Ahrefs.com Open Site Explorer Download all links, put into MS Excel Spreadsheet Remove Duplicates

26 2014 State of Search Manual Actions and Link Cleanups Upload Links to Link Research Tools Take combined links, put into list in.csv file, upload to Link Detox. LRT s Link Detox evaluates every links to site Assigns level of risk for each link

27 2014 State of Search Manual Actions and Link Cleanups Identify Links to Remove in LRT Remove Toxic links, Review Suspicious Links to site. Every link assigned a reason why it s toxic, suspicious, etc.

28 2014 State of Search Manual Actions and Link Cleanups Identify Links to Remove in Majestic SEO MajesDc SEO can help you idendfy low quality links, as well. Use Topic, Trust Flow, and CitaDon Flow to IdenDfy Bad Links

29 2014 State of Search Manual Actions and Link Cleanups Contact Site Owners contact is best opdon, phone call works very well too. Use whois data for most accurate address hwp://whois.icann.org Sending s: 1st Contact - short, concise . Few words, but personalized. 2nd Contact - longer, sdll concise. More descripdve, sdll personalized. 3rd Contact - acdon required phrase in subject. DescripDve, yet personalized. 4th Contact - Very stern, acdon required. Personalized. Our Link Removal Requests come from ClientName@RemoveOurLink.com

30 2014 State of Search Manual Actions and Link Cleanups s to Site Owners Sample , first contact: Subject: Question About Autism-Articles.com! Hi autism-articles.com,!! Recently when we reviewed all of the links to clientdomain.com, we noticed that your website is linking to clientdomain.com on this page here:!! I'm wondering if you would remove this link on your website to clientdomain.com?!! Thank you, Bill (on behalf of clientdomain.com)!

31 2014 State of Search Manual Actions and Link Cleanups Disavow Links AYer at least 3 contact awempts, disavow certain links (domains). We assign every link a status in our spreadsheet - Link Removal Sent, 2 nd Request, 3 rd Request, 4 th Request - Unable to Contact, Refused to Remove, Requested Payment - No longer Links Back, Successfully Removed Spreadsheet also includes all s and contact with site owner. List URLs and Domains of Unable to Contact, No Response, Refused to Remove, and Requested Payment Prepare Disavow File, upload text file to Google, Bing

32 2014 State of Search Manual Actions and Reconsideration Requests Filing a Reconsideration Request Google wants to know that you suffered in order to clean up links. Prove to Google that you went above and beyond Provide spreadsheet with status of every link, and s

33 2014 State of Search Manual Actions and Reconsideration Requests Example of a Reconsideration Request

34 2014 State of Search Manual Actions and Reconsideration Requests Sample Manual Action Revoked 52,252 Total Links to Site 217 referring root domains 693 Healthy Links 709 Inorganic Links 569 live inorganic links to remove AYer three awempts over 3 weeks to contact site owners via site owners responded 12 sites refused to remove the links 257 links were successfully removed based on our requests 27 links site owners requested payment to remove the links 2 links we were unable to contact site owners 274 links site owners were completely unresponsive ayer 3 contacts 256 links were removed as a result of our link removal efforts

35 2014 State of Search Manual Actions and Reconsideration Requests Sample Manual Action Revoked Kept track of all URLs, Status of URL, Dates, and s Added all data into spreadsheet Uploaded spreadsheet to Google Docs Wrote lewer explaining process, linked to Google Docs spreadsheet

36 2014 State of Search Additional Comments Two Schools of Thought on NoFollow NoFollow links are not followed and therefore don t carry any risk or value at all NoFollow links might technically not pass page rank. However, other aspects can transfer, like trust or indicators for link spam. Therefore, Google may issue penaldes if nofollow is overdone. Google Tries to IdenDfy Spammers NoFollow links can sdll hurt rankings & result in manual penaldes. I recommend removing NoFollow links during link cleanups.

37 2014 State of Search Additional Comments Anchor Text Distribution Natural: Unnatural: :

38 2014 State of Search Thank You Contact Me Bill Hartzer Senior SEO Strategist Globe Runner SEO Mobile: (214) Office: (972) Web: hwp:// Blog: h+ps://