How Penguin changed
- 2012 to 2014: Penguin ran as separate updates. Sites that were hit often had to wait many months for the next update to recover.
- 2016 (Penguin 4.0): Penguin became part of Google’s core algorithm and started working in real time.
- Since then, Google mostly ignores spammy links rather than demoting the whole site.
What it means today
Link spam is still against Google’s spam policies. Google’s SpamBrain system and link spam updates neutralize unnatural links, and serious cases can still get a manual action. The safe approach is to earn links with content and relationships, and to use the disavow tool only if you have a manual action or know of a large number of paid or spammy links pointing to your site.
Penguin example
In 2012, a shop that had bought thousands of links with the exact phrase “cheap leather bags” lost most of its search traffic after Penguin launched, and it took more than a year to recover. Today, a similar set of paid links would usually be ignored by Google’s systems rather than punished. But the shop would also not benefit, and a repeat offence can still lead to a manual action.
How to review your link profile
- Export your backlinks from Search Console and a link tool.
- Sort by domain, anchor text and date, and look for sudden bursts of links.
- Flag links from sites that exist only to sell links, with irrelevant content or in languages you do not serve.
- Check that your anchor text is varied and mostly brand and natural phrases.
- If you find a paid-link pattern, stop it and remove what you can.
Penguin mistakes
- Buying links “carefully”, which is still a link scheme.
- Using the same keyword as anchor text for most links.
- Disavowing everything without checking. See disavowing links.
Penguin FAQs
What replaced Penguin?
Its function lives on in the core algorithm and in spam systems. See Google Panda, manual actions and anchor text.
How do I earn links safely?
With useful content and real relationships. See backlinks and reciprocal links.