Google Penguin

Google Penguin is a Google algorithm that judges the quality of links between websites, to stop people from gaming them. When Google finds a low-quality link, Penguin reduces its value.

How does Google Penguin work?

Links can be worth a lot in Google, so it makes sense to actively look for sites that want to link to you. This is called link building. There is nothing wrong with that, but link building must not be used to fool Google. Some people buy or trade backlinks by the thousand. Penguin looks for patterns in the links between websites, using machine learning (artificial intelligence). It then judges the quality of each link. Is the link high quality, for example inside an article on a trusted, relevant website? Then it is worth a lot. Does it come from a link directory, or was it traded? Then it is worth less. Did you buy the link or have it placed automatically? Then Google simply ignores it.

No more Penguin penalty

Many articles still claim you can get a Penguin penalty when Google finds too many bad links pointing to your page. Since 2016 that is no longer the case. Bad links are devalued, so they no longer give you any advantage.