Matt Cutts, Google chief webspam manager, announced last week that a new Google Penguin update is just weeks away. He said that this algorithm update - "Penguin 2.0" - will be deeper and more far-reaching in tackling 'black hat' SEO techniques than previous changes. This will affect the way the Google Crawler reviews and places certain sites in the search index.

For most, this Google update will have no effect. But for some - like those that have content like a series of text links in a column with ads - you could lose huge rankings because Google will think you're trying to fool the search engine by putting paid links on your site. In fact, you could have a friendly Joomla company or a site linking to a friend’s site. Although what you’re doing seems fair to you, if the new Google Crawler “Penguin 2.0” does not like your work, it will punish you by forcing you to be lower in search engine rankings. Read Matt Cutts Talks SEO for Google: 9 Things You Should Expect This Summer if you want to learn more about these SEO updates. The article, by Search Engine Watch, provides a concise summary of the focal points that Cutts discusses in his video.

Watch Matt Cutts’ video explaining the new “Penguin” update:

People always ask me, “how do you know so much about SEO?” I’m not learning as much as I use to concerning SEO, but I can offer some general tools to start learning (see below). You can learn the basics of linking, good on-page SEO work, content, and more, but at the end of the day, following the links below will keep you very well informed. Matt Cutts is the lead engineer at Google in charge of dealing with people who try to fool the search engine. He reveals all the secrets to SEO in a reverse method. He feeds you data that tells you the general logic of the search engine, and you, in-return, need to take that logic and make sure that you follow the standards when you develop your site.

My tips to keep up-to-date in the world of SEO:

1. Read the Google Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide to improve your site’s interaction with both users and search engines.
2. Subscribe to the Google Webmaster YouTube channel. Trust me - this is the source you want to follow.
3. Follow Matt Cutt’s blog. Sign up for the feed and whenever Matt writes about SEO, you’ll receive an email.
4. Connect your site to Google Analytics. CloudAccess.net will do this for you as part of our hosting and support services. Simply submit a ticket and we’ll help you connect this really powerful and free SEO tool provided by Google.