Google’s Comin’, Yo! Penguin Update Resources You Can Use
May 10th, 2012 by
Over the past couple of months, there has been a great deal of hysteria surrounding the unnatural link warnings being sent out in Google Webmaster Tools. These warnings and the release of Google’s Penguin update mean that now is definitely the time to start trying to “act natural” with your link-building methods. While I don’t have any major revelations about this alarming issue, I have been following it rather closely and have some informative posts on the subject to share.
Barry Schwartz’s article at Search Engine Land was interesting because it contains some insight from a Google spokesperson about the warnings people are receiving in Google Webmaster Tools. The spokesman says rather than it just being the effects of Google going after paid blog/link networks, it is Google choosing to report about these issues more so than in the past.
Carson Ward’s post on SEOmoz was especially insightful as it was from the point of view of a self-identified reformed link network spammer. This post gives a highly thorough run down of paid blog networks and identifying posts from them, the webmaster tools unnatural link warning and the best way to apply for reinclusion, and basic advice on how to build a more natural link profile going forward.
Norma Rickman’s post at redmenacemarketing.com has a message of staying calm and chugging along. It goes a bit further in the advice for building a natural link profile by detailing several safer sources of link building. Her ideas on using sources like social bookmarking, Youtube, and guest posting on blogs while maintaining a diverse set of anchor texts are definitely something to take a look at.
While there are many more great posts out there on this subject, I felt that many of them had too much of an alarmist tone to them. It is true that these warnings are cause for any webmaster to be alarmed but it doesn’t mean that panic and overreacting should occur. The best thing that you can do if you are currently dealing with the unnatural link warning issue is to keep a clear head. Do some research and try to get a broad understanding of the situation and how to tackle it before starting the sky-is-falling routine.
