The Battle Against Penguins and Pandas: Getting Back Ranking and Running Future Proof SEO Strategies Online Marketing Summit (OMS) 2012 Presentation by Benj Arriola

1. The Battle Against Penguin & Pandas
Getting Back Ranking and Running Future Proof SEO Strategies
Benj Arriola
@BenjArriola
Ballroom G
www.internetmarketinginc.com

2. Agenda-at-a-Glance
How sure are you How to get back How to avoid
that you were hit lost rankings and Panda and
by a Panda or organic search Penguin
Penguin update? traffic. problems.
Why these How to avoid any
practices work. future search
Case Studies engine update
problem.
Knowing “why” aside from “how” sometimes confuses others.
But sometimes it helps others when “why” helps them understand more.

3. Were you hit by the Panda or Penguin Update?
Web Analytics Panda & Penguin Update Dates
Google organic search traffic over time. Correlate Google organic search
View the date and time range during the traffic with rollout dates of the Panda
updates. & Penguin Updates.
You can use any decent web analytics Find them on existing blogs:
platform that records organic search traffic
and can filter by search engine.
Search Engine Land
Google Analytics SEOMoz
Adobe SiteCatalyst Search Engine Journal
IBM Enterprise Marketing Management Search Engine Roundtable
(Formerly CoreMetrics) SEOBook
WebTrends Search Engine Watch
Piwik
Others
Others
SEOMoz Google Algorithm
Change History
Panda/Penguin Detection: Correlate Incoming Google Organic
Search traffic trends with the Algorithm Change History

4. Examples of Sites Hit by Panda/Penguin
(Client Product/Service: Garage Doors)

5. Examples of Sites Hit by Panda/Penguin
(Client Product/Service: Garage Doors)
Effects of some Panda & Penguin updates may not be that obvious
if your data range is too long within Google Analytics.

6. Examples of Sites Hit by Panda/Penguin
(Narrowing the Date Range)
Panda 3.5 Penguin 1.0 Panda 3.6
Overall Day / Week
Search Organic Google
Traffic / Month
It may be useful to smoothen the line by changing the chart
to display daily, weekly or monthly to remove the confusion of fluctuation.

7. Examples of Sites Hit by Panda/Penguin
(False Positive, Client Product/Service: Financial/Stocks)
Sudden Drop in Overall Traffic
June 2011 – Panda 2.2?

8. Examples of Sites Hit by Panda/Penguin
(False Positive, Client Product/Service: Financial/Stocks)
Sudden Drop in Overall Traffic
Filtered, Organic Search Traffic Only
June 2011 – Panda 2.2?2.2?
June 2011 – Panda

9. Examples of Sites Hit by Panda/Penguin
(False Positive, Client Product/Service: Financial/Stocks)
Filtered, Google Organic Traffic Only
Filtered, Organic Search Search
Traffic Only
June 2011 – Panda 2.2?
June 2011 – Panda 2.2?????

10. Examples of Sites Hit by Panda/Penguin
(False Positive, Client Product/Service: Financial/Stocks)
Google
Search except Google
Filtered, Google Organic Search
Referring Sites Traffic Only
June 2011 – Panda 2.2?????
Not filtering down to Google Organic Search within
Analytics may give misleading Panda/Penguin incorrect analysis.

12. Understanding the Panda & Penguin Updates
Panda/Panda Update Date Details
Panda 1 Feb 23, 2011 Thin Content
Content Farms
Ad-to-Content Ratio
Content Quality
12% of queries affected in the US
Panda 2 Apr 11, 2011 Blocked Sites
English-Speaking Country Roll Out
Panda 2.2 Jun 21, 2011 Gradual Roll Out, Dancing Results
Panda 2.4 Aug 12, 2011 English and Non-English Except Chinese, Japanese and Korean
6-9% of queries affected
Penguin 1 Apr 24, 2012 Over Use of Anchor Text
Keyword Stuffed Anchor Text
3.1 English queries affected
Panda 2.1, 2.3, 2.5, Various dates Mostly minor updates, not much details were given except that the
Flux, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, starting announcement of the roll outs were made either in a conference, a
3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, Jul 23, 2011 tweet, or on one of the Google maintained blogs.
3.9.1, 3.9.2, #20
Penguin 1.1, #3

13. Understanding the Panda & Penguin Updates
Panda/Panda Update Date Details
Panda 1 Feb 23, 2011 Thin Content
Panda Update = Quality Content Farms
Content Penguin Update = Quality Links
Ad-to-Content Ratio
Content Quality
I’m bored 12% of queries affected in the US
reading your
Panda 2 Apr 11, 2011 Blocked Sites
mediocre English-Speaking Country Roll Out
content.
Panda 2.2 Jun 21, 2011 Gradual Roll Out, Dancing Results Your links look
Panda 2.4 Aug 12, 2011 like some
English and Non-English Except Chinese, Japanese and Korean
6-9% of queries affected spammy SEO
Penguin 1 Apr 24, 2012 Over Use of Anchor Text guy made it.
Keyword Stuffed Anchor Text
3.1 English queries affected
Panda 2.1, 2.3, 2.5, Various dates Mostly minor updates, not much details were given except that the
Flux, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, starting announcement of the roll outs were made either in a conference, a
3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, Jul 23, 2011 tweet, or on one of the Google maintained blogs.
3.9.1, 3.9.2, #20
Penguin 1.1, #3

14. Panda Update = Quality Content
How can Google Measure
Quality Content?
Content Layout & Site
Architecture
User Behavior
Understanding the
Content Itself
Manual Reviews

15. Quality Content
Content Layout & Site Architecture
Ad-to-Content Ratio
Less Ads, More Content
Related Updates:
Above The Fold Update,
Jan 19, 2012 (Top Heavy)
Page Layout #2, Oct 9,
2012 (Top Heavy 2)
Tools
Google In-Page Analytics
ResizeMyBrowser.com
Web Developer Toolbar
Firefox, Chrome Extension

16. Quality Content
Content Layout & Site Architecture
Thin Content Categorize well, consolidate
similar pages, eliminate
Page Consolidation
duplicate content.
Content Siloing
Site Architecture
Interesting,
Informative,
Link Baitable
Not too deep
Tip: Duplicate Content – Block, Redirect or Canonical: http://mz.cm/LAvPGn

17. Quality Content
User Behavior
Measuring Quality Based on User Behavior Fixes
SERP Clickthrough Rates Monitor Google Webmaster
Bounce Back to SERPs Tools clickthrough rate
Blocked Sites Monitor pages with high
Back Button bounce rate coming from
Google organic search.
Google Toolbar
Write better Title tags and
https://www.google.com/reviews/t?hl=en Meta descriptions
Google Analytics? Strong second call-to-action
Time on Site & Bounce Rate
Other Platforms: Piwik
Chrome Browser?
Backlinks?
Emotional Triggers in Writing Titles: http://bit.ly/emotiontrigger

18. Quality Content
Understanding the Content Itself
Can Google understand
content?
Every keyword you type in phrase, Google has some
statistics tied around it on how the word is used.

19. Quality Content
Understanding the Content Itself
Measuring Quality Based on the Words Used Fixes
Can Google understand Write natural
content? # of Words
Keyword Density
Semantics
Keyword Count
Relationship of Words Synonyms and other
Relevancy related terms
Cohesiveness
The only people that worry about
Analyzed on an individual this the most are the sploggers,
page level, or between scrapers, content spinners.
linked pages. Leader in Semantic Technology
Purchased by Google back in 2004.
Every keyword you type in phrase, Google has some
Free Content Writing Webinar on Nov 13, 2012 at 11am http://bit.ly/TDvvZX
statistics tied around it on how the word is used.

20. Quality Content
Manual Reviews
Algorithm Change Manual Review
If ranking goes down: If ranking goes down:
It is technically not a penalty, but it It is definitely a penalty.
sure feels like one.
It will surely hit you once the algorithm You may not get a penalty if no one from
propagates. Google finds out.
What happens if you submit a spam What happens if you submit a spam report?
report?
I may be added in the manual
Google may view it as a need to reviewers queue of sites to look at.
adjust the algorithm.
If you submit a reinclusion request: If you submit a reinclusion request:
Since your site is not penalized in Your site is reviewed if you would now
the first place, they are not pass the manual review and you took
reincluding your site anywhere. But action to fix your site.
they may double check if your site
was falsely filtered out by an Forms:
algorithm. So they may view it as a Spam Report Form
need to adjust the algorithm also. Reconsideration Request Form
Penguin Feedback Form
Webmaster Central Forum

21. Penguin Update = Quality Links
How can Google Measure
Quality Links?
Content quality of link
source
Natural Links vs.
Artificial Links

22. Speed of Link Acquisition
Ideally, to appear
having natural link
building, number of
links start small and
gradually increase
over time.

23. Speed of Link Acquisition
Ideally, to appear large
Sudden burst of a
number of links,
having natural link
especially for a new
building, number of
website may raise red
links start small and
flags as they may be
gradually increase
over time. as artificial
perceived
link building.

24. Speed of Link Acquisition
Although sudden burst
Sudden burst of a
in links, as long as they
large number of links,
especially for a new is
are not too excessive,
website older raise red
ok with may websites.
flags as theywouldbe 3
My estimate may be
perceived older.
years and as artificial
link building.

25. Speed of Link Acquisition
Starting with a large
Although sudden burst
in links, of links may seem
amount as long as
they arebut iftoo rate is
artificial not the
excessive, iswill appear
constant, this ok with
natural and this should
older websites.
not affect ranking. Which
My estimate would be
is often the case with
3 years and older.
breaking news reports.

26. PageRank Distribution
Normally it is easier to
get low PR links than
high PR links. And as a
site gets popular over
time, the ratio of low
PR and high PR links
remain the same. Most
links are low PR and
high PR links are
fewer.

27. PageRank Distribution
Normally it mostly links
A site with is easier to
from very low PR sites
get low PR links than
high PR links. with a a
to no PR at all And as
negligible amount of
site gets popular over
time, PR links may low
high the ratio of not
look normal.
PR and high PR links
remain the same. Most
links are low PR and
high PR links are
fewer.

28. PageRank Distribution
A site with mostly links
A site with mostly links
from very lowsites with
from high PR PR sites
to no PR at allPR sites
almost no low with a
also appear as artificial
negligible amount of
link building.
high PR links does not
Remember, diversity in
look normal.
PageRank is good.
Where generally, there
are more low PR than
high PR.

29. Use of Link Text
The relevancy of link
text to your targeted
keywords is very
important. However
naturally people link to
companies and other
websites using the
company name, or
branded
products/services than
generic product
names/services.

30. Use of Link Text
The relevancy of link
If your target keyword
text to your targeted
used too often as you
keywordsthisvery raise
link text, is may
important.flags as
some red However
naturally people link to
artificial link building.
companies and other
Diversify link text with
websites using the
long tail variations.
company name, or
branded
products/services than
generic product
names/services.

31. IP Address of Link Source
Backlinks although
coming from the
different domain
names, if they come
form similar IP
addresses, they are all
on the same server
and can possibly be
own by one person on
a shared hosting
server account.

32. IP Address of Link Source
Backlinks althoughoften
Going a step further,
comingIP addresses
Class-C from the
different domain are also
(aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd)
names, ontheysame
residing if the come
server.
form similar IP
addresses, theyof links
If a large number are all
on the the same Class-C IP
are on same server
address, this may suggest
and can possibly be
artificial link building.
own by one person on
a shared hosting is also
IP address diversity
key in link building.
server account.

33. Other Link Quality Factors
PageRank
Text
Link Text
Surrounding Text
Title Tag
Other Text
Age
Of Page
Of Domain
Of Link
Site-Wide Links vs. Content Links
Adjacent Links
Backlinks of the Backlink
(Neighborhood)
TLD/ccTLD
Geolocation
Diversity in Website Type (blogs,
forums, directories, articles, etc.)

34. Backlink Profile
Limited
Quantity Quality (Power) Quality (Authority &
Google Webmaster Google PageRank Trust)
Tools # of Backlinks of the TrustRank
Bing Webmaster Tools Backlink Google Indexed
Search Engine “link:” Total Backlinks of the SEOMoz Page
command Domain Authority
MajesticSEO Keyword Focused SEOMoz Domain
OpenSiteExplorer Majestic ACRank Authority
SEMRush Follow or No Follow IP Diversity
aHrefs Hosting Country Anchor Text Diversity
Sistrix Site Wide vs. Single Deep Linking
Page Domain Age
Domain Name
Extensions
More
.gov/.edu/.org
Comprehensive CEMPER ccTLD
PowerTM Power*Trust CEMPER
TrustTM

35. Power*Trust (Cemper, LinkResearchTools)

36. Power*Trust of Backlink Pages
Backlinks Found: 30,458
# Unique Domain Live Links : 5,287

37. Power*Trust of Backlink Domain
Backlinks Found: 30,458
# Unique Domain Live Links : 5,287

38. Bad & Suspicious Links

39. Bad & Suspicious Links
Rule Total Percentage
SUSP1 4874 41.80%
Power*Trust of page =
SUSP10 2647 22.70% Backlinks fromvelocity
Domain link 1 Class-C
0
Domain not-70%
trend> 10
IP < indexed.
Not Ranking for Title
Website theme is
SUSP6 1587 13.60%
Power*Trust of of the
Power*Trust domain
Past 4suspicious. same
Domains have the the a
Power*Trust penalized
Site may be ofshows
Domains under
months Domain
SUSP9 830 7.10% Power*Trust of Domain
Domain = 0
<5
same domain IPs
significant decrease in
Class-C registrar.
in Google.
same5
< DNS
IPs
Malware, Malicious,
<5
May be about hacking,
TOX1 690 5.90% links compared to the
Virusbe a penalized, or
May infected website.
Could be forumillegal
or low
pornography,alsoof
Links maymayyears.be
Domainsto 2 part link
May be part of a 5 a
past 1 be <
Power*Trust
quality link directory.
just could be a brand
Power*Trust < 5
pharmaceutical
SUSP8 362 3.10% new,linksite is blocked
or network.
network.
Usually generated by
new site.
distribution,
inMay belink expired
Possible an or by the
robots.txt network,
SUSP7 359 3.10% May be a penalized site
automated tools or by
or domain or site tag.
just a noindex that
meta very unpopular
manually by a
users has lost interest.
page.
SUSP4 200 1.70% spamming team.
SUSP5 44 0.40%
SUSP3 27 0.20%
TOX2 23 0.20%
SUSP2 8 0.10%

40. Bad & Suspicious Links
Evaluate, try to remove
Attempt link removal. Increase links like these
link if necessary.

41. Link Removal Services
Matt Cutts still
recommends as much as
possible try to remove bad
links even if the Disavow
Link Tool was created.
If the link really cannot be
removed, then use the link
disavow tool.
Tip: More on Disavow Link Tool: http://bit.ly/disavowlinkstool

42. Case Study (Finance/Stocks)
Organic Google 2011
Hit by Panda 1,
never came back

43. Case Study (Finance/Stocks)
Organic Google 2012
Majority of work: Removal of internal duplicate
Became IMI content. Fix site architecture. Ran a blog. Did some
Client infrographics. Promoted on Social media. Submitted
Reconsideration request

44. Case Study (Home Furnishing/Decor)
Organic Google 2011
Mainly hit by Minor hit in Panda
Panda 2 2.4 & 2.5 flux

45. Case Study (Home Furnishing/Decor)
Organic Google 2012
Became IMI Majority of work: Manual rewriting of tons of page
Client content and removal of duplicate content.

46. Our Biggest Challenge When Dealing with Panda
and Penguin Affected Websites
Client
Does not want to change
anything on the site.
Client tends to be spammy
himself/herself and does not
believe in your
recommendations.
A major technical issue, with
lack of technical know-how
or resources.
Never allocated the right
time and resources.

48. Panda Prevention = Penguin Prevention
You know your Good natural links
content is good are gained when
when people talk people pass your
about it & pass it good content
around. around.
Prevent your site from being affected by Panda & Penguin by:
(1) coming up with great content & (2) doing a social promotion.

49. Quality Content
Content Layout & Site Architecture
Thin Content Categorize well, consolidate
similar pages, eliminate
Page Consolidation
duplicate content.
Content Siloing
Site Architecture
Interesting,
Informative,
Link Baitable
Not too deep
Free Content Writing Webinar on Nov 13, 2012 at 11am http://bit.ly/TDvvZX

50. Common Link Building Methods
Link Begging / Solicitation / Request
Submissions
Directories
Articles
Press Releases
Content Links
Blog Postings
Article Directories
Blog Commenting
Press Releases
Banner Ads, Text Link Ads
Forum
Forum Posting
Forum Signatures
Public Email Groups
Social Media
Social Networks
Social Bookmaking

51. High Quality Links
High Quality Links
Inbound Link Building
Link Bait
Infographic Creation
Blogging Strategy
Video Strategy
Trust Bait
Badge, Awards &
Recognitions
Guest Blogging
Authoritative Sources
Press Release & Matte
Release

52. Infographic Example

53. Infographic Example

54. Blogging Strategy
Link Bait
Opportunities
Study Current Blog
Competitors
Common Blog Benefits
Blogging Strategies New Fresh Content
Blogging Schedule Content Syndication
Opportunity for deep linking to
Social Promotion main website pages
Many blog platforms are nearly
good with less work on on-page
SEO out of the box
Free Content Writing Webinar on Nov 13, 2012 at 11am http://bit.ly/TDvvZX

55. Video Strategy
Common Video SEO Benefits
Less video ranking competition
than web pages
User stickiness and potential to
convert well
Potential for natural video
sharing of users as a link
building tactic.
Link Bait Opportunities
Study Videos of Competitors
Video Strategy
Social Promotion
Automated Video Creation
XML Feed Powered

56. Trust Bait
Attracts very long
term to permanent
links from high trust
value websites.
TLDs are from .gov,
.edu, .org, .mil and
more.
Create a high quality
resource information
page to divert link
Your Site
juice to your website.

57. Trust Bait Case Study
Trade-a-Plane.com
Foundational OnPage SEO already completed
Rankings improve by remain stagnant for two
months with room for more opportunities.
Created Trust Bait Pages
Promoted them through education, government,
organization channels (4/26/2012 to 5/30/2012)
10 links gained
Experimental Aircraft Association Websites
EAA922.org (.edu & .gov)
EAA32.org (1999)
ProFlyersInc.com/EAA501 (2002)
ExperimentalAirplane.com (2000)
Other Airplane Pilot Groups
FlyingGators.com (1999, .edu & .gov)
AirMailPioneers.org (1998)
Educational Insitutions
COA.FIT.edu (1989)
UkiahAviation.com (.edu & .gov)
Informational/Resource Pages
CrashSiteOrkney.com
AirCrashSites-Scotland.co.uk

58. Trust Bait Case Study
Trade-a-Plane.com
Foundational OnPage SEO already completed
Rankings improve by remain stagnant for two
months with room for more opportunities.
Created Trust Bait Pages
Promoted them through education, government,
organization channels (4/26/2012 to 5/30/2012)
10 links gained
Experimental Aircraft Association Websites
EAA922.org (.edu & .gov)
EAA32.org (1999)
ProFlyersInc.com/EAA501 (2002)
ExperimentalAirplane.com (2000)
Other Airplane Pilot Groups
FlyingGators.com (1999, .edu & .gov)
AirMailPioneers.org (1998)
Educational Insitutions
COA.FIT.edu (1989)
UkiahAviation.com (.edu & .gov)
Informational/Resource Pages
CrashSiteOrkney.com
AirCrashSites-Scotland.co.uk

59. Press Release & Mat Release
Press Release
Optimize and identify
opportunities for PR
topics.
PR: It is up to the news
publishers to syndicate
your press release or
not.
Mat Release
Guaranteed News
Article Distribution

60. The Battle Against Penguin & Pandas
Getting Back Ranking and Running Future Proof SEO Strategies
Download Presentation Now
http://bit.ly/omspandapenguin
Thanks!
Any Questions?