When Google rolled out its Penguin 2.0 update web publishers braced themselves for the worst. But when the dust settled, Penguin 2.0’s impact was nowhere near as bad as expected.
Today, just over a month after its initial release, it seems as though Penguin 2.0 didn’t have a huge impact, but where it did hit; it hit hard. Here’s what we know so far about the second dose of Penguin.
Penguin Bogeyman
For almost a year, the specter of the Penguin 2.0 update lurked in the imagination of the SEO world. Matt Cutts added to the intrigue by promising an update that was, “jolting and jarring.”
All this hype turned Penguin 2.0 into a sort of SEO bogeyman, and with good reason. Penguin 1.0 was, arguably, one of the most disruptive and expensive Google updates of all time.
After its initial launch, huge investments in paid link networks went out the window. Throw in the time webmasters spent trying to identify and clean up bad links and your talking about a lot of money.
Regardless of the pain it inflicted, Penguin 1.0 was clearly one of most effect updates ever. That initial roll out impacted around 3.1% of all English language queries across a wide spectrum of industries – including iGaming.
Though Penguin 2.0 effected 2.3% of all English language queries, its impact was much narrower. A recent article on SearchEngineLand.com suggests that 8 of the 25 sites most impacted by Penguin 2.0 were porn sites and, curiously, the Salvation Army.
iGaming and Penguin 2.0
As whole, casino affiliates have weathered the latest incarnation of Penguin pretty well.
After the rollout, the CAP SEO Forums were remarkably quiet. Most of the discussions centered on the use of brand names in links, with the exception of one poster who said:
2.0 hit the gambling space hard and I dont know about the rest of you but I know I’m completely lost.
On sites like OnlinePokerReport.com, and other igaming forums, posters were pleasantly surprised by Penguin 2.0’s soft landing; but maybe these folks should give themselves a little more credit.
Gambling affiliates have put in countless hours removing questionable links to improve their overall link profiles and all that work’s paid off. Whether they liked it or not, the igaming people played by Penguin’s rules and were spared a fresh round of SEO misery for their efforts.
Were you impacted by Penguin 2.0? Share your experiences in the comments section below.