As it typically does with many major Google algorithm updates, Searchmetrics has released of the top losers from the Google Penguin 2.0, which the search engine rolled out this week. Based on this list, some big brands like Dish and Salvation Army were hit, as were some porn sites, travel sites and game sites. Even the Educational Testing Service was hit.
“My first analysis shows that many thin sites, sites with thin links and especially untrusted links face the problem,” says Searchmetrics founder and CTO Marcus Tober. “In addition, some small business sites were hit because they haven’t taken SEO serious enough.”
Here’s the list:
Back in April of 2012, after Penguin 1.0, Searchmetrics put out one of these lists. Google’s Matt Cutts spoke out about it, saying it was inaccurate, because there had also been a Panda update, and the list was likely more indicative of that. The fact is that Google puts out algorithm changes every day, and any of these can potentially play into analysis like this.
In fact, Google recently transitioned Panda into a rolling update, meaning it is being pushed out regularly, rather than coming in big waves like it used to. We’re not trying to discredit Searchmetrics’ list here. It’s just always best to take these things with a grain of salt.
It’s worth noting that Searchmetrics put out an updated list after Cutts’ comments.