Google is getting even tougher on sites that abuse links, says report

Google created a minor shockwave last April when it introduced a new tool that caused millions of websites to tumble in its search listings. The tool, known as the Penguin algorithm, punishes sites that attempt to use dubious linking tactics in order to increase their visibility. Now, a new report suggests that the company is applying the punishments with increasing severity.

According to a study by Portent, an internet marketing firm, Google is steadily decreasing the number of manipulative links it will tolerate before it downgrades a site. When Google first introduced Penguin, the algorithm would permit 80 percent of a site’s incoming links to be spammy before it took action; that number then dropped to 65 percent and then 50 percent by the end of 2012 (which is end range of the study).