Brands should future-proof SEO activity in light of the impending Google Penguin update, urges Punch Communications

Following the recent video posted by Matt Cutts, Google’s head of webspam, which details what the search engine has in store over the next few months, integrated PR, social media and SEO agency Punch Communications is advising brands to future-proof SEO strategies prior to any rollouts.

Brands continuing to practice off-site black hat SEO must take heed that the next generation Penguin update will take a stronger stance on poor off-site activities, as Google has made clear it will be increasing its webspam targeting efforts. Webmasters must ensure SEO efforts are transparent and are within the scope of Google’s guidelines if they wish to rank highly within search results; sites that are still relying on link farm type sites and other ‘unnatural’ link-building tactics could find themselves losing visibility for key strategic terms with the upcoming update. Despite this being the fourth Penguin update, the overhaul has been described to be so extensive that it is being referred by Google as Penguin 2.0. Brands should note that the update is expected to roll out in the coming weeks with its full effects taking hold by the end of summer and, although the geographic location of the rollout has not yet been specified, it is expected that the updates will initially roll out to a US audience, before becoming globally available.

Keredy Andrews, account director at integrated search, social and PR company Punch Communications, commented: “The announcement of Penguin 2.0, and the other updates that Google’s Matt Cutts discusses in his recent video, illustrates the search engine is more serious than ever about favouring websites that follow its guidelines; penalties in the rankings will be applied to those sites that persist in favouring black hat methods to establish link profiles and those that aren’t providing quality on-site content. Brands should act now to improve their SEO efforts by ensuring valuable on-site content is a priority and that backlink profiles are cleaned up and maintained to follow the company’s new SEO strategies.” For more information about Punch Communications and its integrated approach to PR, social media and SEO, visit http://www.punchcomms.com