Why You Got Hit by Penguin 2.1

The scary Penguin struck again! This time more fiercely than ever. This spam eating search algorithm from Google is a periodic update that finds and affects those that are spamming its search engine results, but still manage to rank well in the listings. Those websites that get affected by this algorithm show a marked dip in traffic and rankings suddenly around the date this upgrade goes live. So, if you've purchased paid links, your domain is one among the many under its direct target. 

But what if you've not resorted to any of the spammy tricks and back links to your website, and still you got hit by Penguin 2.1? Well, there are many like you who believe the same. Don't worry or lose hope. Start by taking a fresh look at your SEO strategy, and find the loopholes where Google must have gotcha! However, remember that it is just an automated system algorithm that also shows odd results owing to certain limitations.

Some official domains were not even listed while hackers sites are. Empty or fake domains with make money online messages are listed. Copied content came out higher than the places they copied it from. There are also reported cases of false positives. Spam is still getting through with flying colours while genuine sites are unfairly targeted.

How to Recover from Penguin 2.1

Earlier, you were allowed to file a reconsideration request if you thought you got in the line of fire for all the wrong reasons. However, Google now makes it clear that filing such requests won't help you recover. As I mentioned earlier, you need to take a closer look at your websites and links to find the weak spot and clear the spam up. You'll be back on track naturally within a few days.  So before you think of lodging your request with the search engine giant, make sure you follow these steps and ensure you're not at fault here:

• Clear any on-page spam on your website that you know of

• Clear any bad or paid link networks that you may be a part of

• Wait for a few days for the effects to show or wait till the next update

• If you are not able to recover your rankings and traffic even after all this, consider filing a report to Google.

Follow these steps and ensure you follow only White Hat SEO techniques to promote your online endeavors in order to stay safe from future attacks.