With the release of the Penguin update, Google started to count bad links as a negative ranking signal. Websites that purchased backlinks or gained backlinks through spamming (blog comment spam, forum profile backlinks, etc.) were penalized by Google.
Many webmasters worried that other people might create bad backlinks to harm their website rankings. The new disavow link tool enables webmasters to tell Google that particular links should not count.
Some days ago, Google published a list of the ranking algorithm updates that were done during the last two months. How do these changes influence the position of your website in Google's search results and what do you have to do to make sure that your website gets high rankings?
Here's a summary of the most important changes that can have an influence on your website rankings:
Since Google's release of Google's +1 button, webmasters have wondered about the effect of this on their web page rankings. In an interview, Google's Matt Cutts commented on this and on the effect of authorship on your rankings.
In an online discussion, Google's John Mueller explained why a website won't regain its old rankings after a penalty. Even if the penalty is lifted, the website still might have bad rankings. What can you do to make sure that your website is not affected by this?
Five days ago, Google's Matt Cutts announced in an online discussion that there will be further Penguin updates that will be upsetting for many webmasters:
Some days ago, Google announced a ranking algorithm update. The new ranking algorithm will also consider the number of valid copyright removal notices that a website receives.
Search engine optimization is very similar to wealth building. If you do the wrong things and listen to the wrong people, you might lose everything and you might be left with nothing. This is a lesson that many people learned after Google's Penguin update.
Established websites have a big advantage over new websites. Websites that were around several years ago had far fewer competitors and it was much easier for them to get high rankings in that environment.
Google trusts websites that have been around for a long time more. In addition, these websites had a lot of time to get good backlinks. If you have a new website, it will be difficult to compete with these established sites.
Google's recent updates have rattled many webmasters. Are your rankings safe? Do you have to worry about Google's next updates? There are three things that you can do to stay ahead of future Google updates.
In an online discussion, Google's John Mueller said that having a great website is not enough to get high rankings on Google. What do you need to get high Google rankings and what do you have to do?