On the 24 of April Google rolled out their latest 
major update dubbed the Penguin update.
Since then a larger number of website owners worldwide
have experienced a drop off in visitor traffic due to
lower Google search engine rankings,
some websites owners have reported a drop in traffic
by as much as a staggering 30% and
even more in some cases.
So why has this happened?
Google is constantly striving to enhance their user experience and remove low
quality content (Websites) from their search index.
In a perfect world, websites with the “best content” will always rank the highest on the search engines,
but this is not always the case; as some webmasters use techniques that essentially exploit Google’s algorithm
to ensure their lower quality websites rank there. So Google rolls our major updates to its algorithm
from time to time with new tweaks to remove this low quality content, the latest major one is called the Penguin update.
Google’s website ranking algorithm
Google has always declined to divulge specifics of its search-ranking algorithm and it encourages
businesses that follow its guidelines.
In a recent statement from Google:
“We want people doing white hat search engine optimization (or even no search engine optimization at all) to be free to focus on creating amazing, compelling web sites. We’re trying to level the playing field for those focused on building useful sites with compelling content for their users.
The Penguin algorithm update was designed to reduce Web spam, which is when websites
try to get a higher search ranking than they deserve by deceiving or manipulating search engines,”
Google’s webmaster Guidelines
These guidelines can be found in the google webmaster area and are available for all webmasters to review,
a recent entry on this topic : Another step to reward high-quality sites
Another interesting extract from this
“Search engine optimizers often improve the usability of a site, help create great content, or make websites faster, which is good for both users and search engines. Good search engine optimization can also mean good marketing: thinking about creative ways to make a site more compelling, which can help with search engines as well as social media. The net result of making a great site is often greater awareness of that site on the web, which can translate into more people linking to or visiting a site”.
Challenges for small business owners
Google provides free tools and advice to webmasters and small businesses on how to meet their quality guidelines, but perhaps because they make so many changes to their algorithm; it’s sometimes difficult for small business owners with limited resources to stay on top of all of these changes.
Professional advice on this topic
Our colleagues over at Ace internet marketing can assist you with your online marketing.
They offer a wide range of services and can advise you on how to ensure your
Website performs to its fullest potential in terms of your search engine rankings and online exposure.
You can go direct to their website here
The TIB Team