It's also good to see how the Google algorithm has changed over time. Google is constantly updating its search algorithm and doesn't like to reveal major updates. However, some updates are announced in advance and others are surmised.

Backlink Analysis

One of the ways businesses get caught by a Google penalty is bad backlinks. A backlink is any link that connects back to your site. Google uses these to assess how popular your site is. But if the sites that are linking to you are poor ones, such as a spammer or a link directory, then Google might think you're buying backlinks and punish you for it.

This can happen if you hire an outside company to improve your PPC management and search engine optimization that isn't on the up-and-up, but it can also happen if a formerly good site switches owners and runs the site into the ground. That's why backlink analyzers are so useful.

Ahrefs is one of the most comprehensive backlink tools out there. You can use it to check your entire backlink profile and see which links are helping you out and which ones are dragging you down. Also, since they have a free trial, you can use it to just get a quick peek at what's going on.

If you have a large backlink profile and you want a little help with automation, Linkody is the next tool to try. Its goal is to automate backlink checking so you can respond to backlink problems before they become a major hassle. Also, it has built-in tools to disavow backlinks from sites that refuse to take them down, like most spam sites.

We understand that some of you out there prefer to do everything yourself and don't want to go with a link managing platform, or you simply have too few bad backlinks to really warrant that. You can take care of link disavowal yourself by choosing to use Google's disavow tool to eliminate any pernicious or unbeneficial links.

Detecting Penalties Early

We haven't seen a major slam against a huge number of sites since the Panda and Penguin updates in 2011. Nevertheless, small changes in the algorithm can suddenly cause your site to drop for reasons beyond your control. Detecting these little fluctuations can help you determine whether or not you're receiving a minor penalty now.

Barracuda has a free tool called Panguin that analyzes your Google Analytics data and compares it with perceived changes in Google's algorithm. It can show you whether or not a drop in your SEO might be related to a change Google made. This sort of analysis is important because it can be quite worrisome to see a drop when you (or an outside company) believe you're doing everything right. Seeing when the change happened can help pinpoint what went wrong.

A fun tool that shows the volatility of Google's algorithm is the Google Grump Rating from AccuRanker. This is a proprietary algorithm that tracks how fast things are changing in Google's search engine results and could pinpoint an algorithm change. This is a free tool. A similar algorithm volatility tool is Moz's MozCast.

With these tools and bits of knowledge in mind, it should be easy to avoid a Google penalty. In summary:

• Check that your site isn't violating one of the terms of service of Google's search engine. Ask your web developer, SEO team or PPC management agency if they know what's prohibited and how you can avoid problems in site design and backlink selection.
• Assuming your site's content and setup are fine, look at your backlink profile and see if any old links are bogging down your results. Contact the webmaster of the site to remove the results or use a tool to disavow the link so Google won't count it.
• If you see a sudden dip, make sure that it's not Google making an update that caused a bounce. SEO fluctuations are normal and these tools can rule out that it was some piece of content or a tweak on your side that caused it.

Checking Google's fluctuations once a week and your backlink profile once a month along with your keyword rankings will help you find penalty issues before they become full-blown and keep your SEO high.

Chris Hickman

Chris Hickman is founder and CEO for Adficient. He can be reached at 314-472-3923 or [email protected].