Many Websites Lose Google PageRank Overnight
Google's Latest Update Targets Illegal Paid Links
The latest Google PageRank update has resulted in many popular blogs and news websites losing some PageRank overnight. The PageRank reduction appears to be a reaction to websites that use link-building schemes that are disallowed by Google.
Google webmaster guidelines encourage site owners not to participate in paid link schemes desgined to artifically inflate google organic keyword rankings. Google had yet to enforce the rule to date, but recently decided now was the time with the holiday shopping ecommerce rush rapidly approaching.
Some popular newspaper and magazine websites experienced a Google PageRank drop including the Washington Post and Forbes.com who both lost two full points of Google PageRank falling from a PageRank of 7 down to a 5 despite thousands of backlinks and their daily content publishing schedules.
Not all of the websites falling in PageRank were using or buying paid links. Some popular blogs lost Google PageRank as a result of being members of a blog network (Splogs) designed to serve Google AdWords and also deliver other paid links from multiple revenue generating sources other than Google. Many of these blogs (spam blogs/splogs) also had plenty of internal cross-links between sites and seemed to be creating volumes of blogs with similar minimal unique content designed primarily to increase backlinks and articifically boost and inflate google organic keyword rankings.
Google identified many of these blogs as members of an automated blog network filled with inappropriate linking strategies. Google's stance to date on link building communities is quite clear yet many publishers and marketing companies are determined to bend every rule possible and continue to implement and participate in bogus link schemes designed with one primary intent ... drive higher organic rankings in Google.
Here's Google's Clear Recommendations on Linking:
"Don't participate in link schemes designed to increase your site's ranking or PageRank."
Sure many link building techniques exist however if the links are part of a network of "bad neighborhood" why would anyone want to participate or associate their site with any low quality, non-relevant link networks.
The Google update appaears to be the first strict enforcement by Google of the Google webmaster guidelines on linking. As many Google editors have confirmed the number of linking schemes and paid link farms have exploded in the last year and have made delivering relevant search results much more difficult.
This recent action taken by Google to enforce their webmaster guidelines is only the first step as Google engineers report that they will be enforcing their webmaster guidelines much more diligently in the coming months. The Google search databases and indexes have been grwoing rapidly in recent months faster than ever in history and with this growth comes the daunting task of retaining high quality search results. In terms of Google Search Engine Optimization practices linking and link schemes is the first step in enacting more enforecement as more controls are also approaching with regards to "On Site Manipulation of the Google Algorithms" which will include more enforcement of sites that are selling link placement and offering paid link opportunities or a free pair of hannah montana tickets designed to manipulate the googlebot spiders first and serve users second.
In the case of some blogs losing PageRank, Google looks to have punished blogs that are promoting inappropriate link building techniques. Look for more PageRank updates from Google in the coming weeks.
