Algorithmic Penalties: What are they and how do they affect SEO?

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Algorithmic penalties are those that Google automatically applies to websites where it has detected some misleading or invasive action that hinders user navigation and/or affects the quality of the content.

These have been included in various updates to the search results ranking algorithm, detailed below:

1. Panda
Algorithmic Penalties
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Launched in February 2011, this virtual mammal became a strong what is a loan? deterrent to low-quality sites, whose webmasters copied content from other sites and published it on their sites, without attribution. And, as many of them were SEO specialists, they over-optimized the information for specific keywords, achieving good positioning, and overloaded the page with advertising.

As a result, and after a series of updates, Google's idea is to make sites grow naturally and with quality content; therefore, the penalty is mainly directed at websites that:

• Duplicate third-party content

• Incorporate low-quality and sparse content, for example, one or two paragraphs.

• They have too many ads that make navigation difficult

2. Penguin

Image CC: Freepik
The trust generated by sites is another factor that Google began to give greater importance to, leading to the hatching of the first egg of this virtual bird in April 2012, in order to fight against SPAM and misleading link building .

According to the Digital Vidya company website, dedicated to training in Digital Marketing and Data Analysis, this algorithm was generated targeting mainly those who violated Google's webmaster guidelines, using Black Hat SEO techniques, such as buying links, to artificially increase the ranking of their web pages in the SERPs , which caused algorithmic penalties to the corresponding websites.

Then, with the launch of Google Penguin 4.0 in September 2016, it was defined that incoming links will be tracked in real time , that is, the moment that misleading links are detected, the page will be devalued. In addition, the algorithm will be granular , that is, it will have a partial effect on the website, without penalizing it globally, as was the case previously.

3. Mobilegeddon (Mobile-friendly)


Here it is necessary to make a distinction and clarify that this algorithm, introduced on April 21, 2015, does not imply a penalty for abusive acts, as we saw in the previous points; although it does have effects on SEO.

Its implementation means that when a user performs a search on Google from their mobile phone, the websites that are optimized for such devices will appear first. Therefore, those that are not optimized will lose positioning, which will reduce their visibility and the eventual flow of qualified traffic.

Now, considering that more than half of the queries made on Google, worldwide, are made from mobile devices ; this algorithm becomes a warning for brands that still underestimate having a responsive web design.

4. Top Heavy (Page layout) / Interstitial ads


The relationship between content, advertising and user experience has also been a focus for Google, as reflected in the introduction of the Page Layout algorithm in January 2012.

Through this, sites whose content is overloaded with “above the fold” ads, forcing users to scroll down to find information, will not be ranked favorably. On the other hand, if these ads are included in a normal proportion, so as not to interrupt the visitor, the algorithm will not affect the site.

But search results rankings will not only be affected by invasive “above the fold” ads. In January 2017, Google announced that it would penalize sites that hinder the mobile search experience with intrusive interstitial ads; that is, those that appear in the active window, like full-screen advertising messages, interrupting access to the content that the user wants to see.

According to the company, some examples of interstitials that hinder access are:

• Display a pop-up that covers the main content, either just after tapping on a search result or while the user is browsing the page.

• Display a standalone interstitial that the user must dismiss to access the main content.

• Use a layout where the top half of the page resembles a standalone interstitial, with the original content inserted in the bottom half.



Considering the objectives of these four points, and that algorithmic penalties target various flanks, it is very important that brands review their SEO techniques to avoid becoming Google's next target.

If websites deliver original, valuable, quality content and do not interrupt users' navigation with invasive and deceptive methods, they will have enormous potential to position their brands at the top of the SERPs.