On the 13thMay 2013, Matt Cutts, the head of Googles web spam team have given web masters all over the world mini heart attacks by announcing their new algorithm changes. Known as Penguin 2.0, it will be released in the coming weeks and its imminent arrival is sending waves of anxiety throughout the SEO world.
So, do you really need to worry?
The good news is, is that the guys who have been carrying out ethical, white hat SEO will be protected by Google. This means if you have concentrated working on your website from your users point of view rather than from a search engines point of view, you are in this category. In my view, the term Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is an old and outdated term simply because your website should be optimised for your user and not for search engines.
If you have been creating great content of your own that is compelling and interesting to your target audience then you should not see a huge change in Google for your website. On the flip side, if you have ever participated in link buying, link sharing, copying content from other websites and any other techniques designed to manipulate Google's search engine results then Penguin 2.0 will be a problem for you.
For people who have concentrated more on their users, the best advice anyone can give at present is to carry on doing what you have always done. Penguin 2.0 is there is hike out spammers, and black hat SEO's, in turn removing the content from the Google search engine allowing more websites that have earned their links organically to have a better crack at the whip.
What can I do to keep the Penguins on ice?
Keep writing great compelling content that is relevant to your market. Think of SEO as link earning and not link building and you will not go far wrong. When you write great content you share it across the social networks. This way people will link to you in an organic and natural way.
--Update--
It has now been confirmed (22nd May 2013) that Google has now rolled out the Penguin 2.0 update across the web
--Update 2--
It has now been confirmed (4th October 2013) that Google has rolled out Penguin 2.1. Some great information from Search Engine Land here: http://searchengineland.com/penguin-2-1-and-5-live-173632