Why were SEOs scared of a Penguin? Exploring methods of collaboration between SEOs

Penguins aren't usually the most intimidating of animals. 

With their charming tuxedos and an entertaining waddle, most people think of penguins as cuddly little critters.

Admittedly, TV’s Feathers McGraw is quite scary, but you can always count on Gromit to keep that particular clay penguin at bay.

However, there is one penguin that haunts the SEO industry… 

The Google Penguin

Once upon a time in the SEO world, the mere mention of the Google Penguin was enough to cause SEOs to shudder with fear. Some would even curl up into a ball.

But why? Why were SEOs scared of a penguin? Does it still affect how SEOs act today?

Photo Source: WikiMedia under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0

What is Google Penguin?

Google Penguin refers to a series of sweeping algorithm updates launched in April 2012. The purpose of these changes was to combat certain black-hat SEO tactics, such as link farming, buying links and being part of private blog networks. These nefarious methods were manipulating search engine results, resulting in a poorer search experience for users, whilst also penalising SEOs who played by the rules. 

By penalizing these black-hat methods, Google Penguin aimed to promote high-quality content and to create more authentic website rankings, something that was widely celebrated. 
 

Effects of the Penguin

• Some sites that had been engaging in black-hat techniques saw their organic traffic drop drastically. One unnamed e-commerce toy store saw traffic plummet from over 100,000 a month to fewer than 10,000
• Searchmetrics study found that websites with high spam scores lost on average between 20 - 50% of organic traffic
• Industry analysis estimates that between 3 and 5% of all English search queries were directly affected by the initial Penguin updates

If Black Monday is the name given to the 1987 Stock Market crash, then the introduction of Google Penguin was Black-Hat Tuesday

Whilst the Penguin was widely celebrated as a move that would reward high-quality content and websites, it did result in legitimate white-hat SEOs changing their link-building practices to avoid any potential grey areas. Many SEOs steered well-clear of any attempts at overtly collaborating with other SEOs to create content together, given the fear of appearing to be part of a link farm.
 

Can SEOs safely collaborate together without fearing the wrath of the Google Penguin?

Most conventional wisdom regarding link-building encourages SEOs to focus on creating high quality content that will organically generate links. These sort of organic backlinks are the holy grail of links, but most SEOs will attest to the difficulty in creating the content that will regularly and consistently bring in these organic links. 

“Build it and they will come” isn’t something that is necessarily true for content. Every SEO writer will have at least one time they spent hours drafting content, editing and perfecting a piece, only for it to flop in terms of traffic. 

So if nearly all SEOs are in the same boat, writing great content but struggling to earn high quality backlinks off the back of this content, what can be done? 

To find out, I interviewed a cross-section of the SEO community, from in-house marketers at small businesses through to CEOs from some of the best-known SEO providers.

Here’s what they had to say…
 

TL;DR: Collaborate for content, not for backlinks

Whilst Google hates private blog networks, it loves good content.

By good content, many of those interviewed mentioned in-depth guides as the sort of content they are prioritising for their clients. These types of guides often cover a wide range of topics within a niche, which opens the door towards collaboration with other SEOs.

One example provided was from George Palmer, who works for specialist Porsche mechanic George Edward. In one of their detailed buyers guides, they collaborated with a local garage who specialised in used Porsches. The other garage provided an expert quote relating to the sales valuations of the cars. This collaboration was ideal; not only did the reader benefit from the added expertise inputted from the sales expert, the other garage received a high quality, niche relevant backlink. 

Priyanshu Dubey, the SEO Executive at Hip Xpert, says that the key to a successful SEO collaboration is to find content partners who are:

1. In a related but non-competing niche: This ensures that the link exchange is mutually beneficial and avoids any conflicts of interest.
2. Creating high-quality content: Linking to spammy or low-quality websites can actually hurt your SEO.
3. Ethical in their practices: You don't want to get tangled up with someone using black-hat SEO tactics.

Collaboration works best when there is a clear alignment of goals and a shared commitment to quality. Instead of viewing other SEOs as competitors, I approach them as potential allies. Whether co-authoring articles, brainstorming keyword strategies, or even doing guest posts, teamwork can produce outstanding results while enhancing credibility for all parties involved.

Iryna Melnyk, Jose Angelo Studios

Will linking back and forth from the same two websites risk the wrath of the Penguin?

Whilst the risk is minimal if the content is created in good faith, the risk is always present, especially if you are regularly collaborating with the same websites.

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re an SEO with a portfolio of sites. Farrukh Ali, the PR specialist at Techvando recommends you follow his approach. 

Instead of providing a backlink from the same site for which I received one, I offer a backlink from another relevant site within my portfolio. This ensures compliance with SEO best practices and avoids the pitfalls of direct link exchanges, which can appear manipulative to search engines.

Farrukh Ali, Techvando

Don’t go overboard

As much as content collaborations represent an excellent strategy to build links in 2025, enjoy it in moderation. As Marc Hardgrove, the CEO of TheHOTH puts it, link exchanges “are one of Google's MOST SCRUTINIZED tactics. Excessive or overtly reciprocal link exchanges can be viewed as manipulative practices, violating Google's Webmaster Guidelines.”

Where can you find SEO partners to collaborate with?

Did you really think I was going to write such a long article, interview half the world’s SEO community and photoshop a picture of a nefarious penguin and not plug something? Come on now.

Introducing Forward Link, your place to find SEO content collaborators. 

On Forward Link, you can find like-minded SEOs looking to create compelling content that your customers and search engines alike will love. 

Think of it as the forward thinking way of building backlinks…

The platform has only just launched, so expect quality, not quantity of fellow Forward Linkers. 

If you’ve read this far, you deserve a treat. Use the code ‘FREE006MO’ to get your first 6 months free. Redeem it here.

Interview Responses

At LawTurbo, we have built our link strategy around creating valuable, shareable resources for personal injury attorneys and digital marketers. While I haven’t collaborated with other SEOs to exchange links, here is what has worked for us:
1. Creating Shareable Content: We produce practical guides and resources that naturally earn links because they are genuinely useful to professionals in the legal and digital marketing spaces.
2. PR Platforms: Using tools like Qwoted and Featured.com, we secure quotes in articles on marketing and industry trends, which often include backlinks to our site.
3. Cold Outreach: We have also had success reaching out to blogs in both the legal and digital marketing niches, pitching guest posts that add real value to their audience.

These methods have allowed us to grow our backlink profile while staying true to ethical SEO practices.
Kyle Morris, LawTurbo

As an experienced SEO practitioner, I can certainly state that I have collaborated with other SEOs to develop content and share links, however with extreme caution. While it may be tempting to use such collaborations for mutual profit, it is critical to ensure that the content and links are truly worthwhile and relevant to the respective audiences. I've discovered that the most effective collaborations entail producing high-quality, useful content that naturally gets links from respected sources in the area. Any attempt at phony link schemes or manipulative tactics is not only immoral, but it also carries a high danger of search engine penalties. Finally, prioritizing user experience and following best practices is the most reliable way to achieve long-term SEO success.

Huma Shaikh, Mitt Avv

Collaborating can be a powerful way to create meaningful connections and amplify reach, as long as it’s done thoughtfully. I once partnered with a SaaS marketing expert to write a comprehensive guide on AI-powered sales optimization. We both contributed insights from our expertise, and the result was a content that resonated deeply with each of our audiences. Instead of just exchanging links, we focused on making the content truly valuable, which naturally attracted backlinks and engagement.

Avoid link exchanges that feel transactional or forced, or links for the sake of getting them. The secret to successful collaboration is focusing on topics that appear well to both humans and search engines by creating helpful, informative content that aims to answer users' queries.

V. Frank Sondors, Salesforge AI

You can’t create in a vacuum so to produce quality content it is not only more interesting to hear others thoughts and advice but to be able to learn from their experiences.
I collaborate with SEO/Social Media and traditional marketing services at least once a week, even if it’s only for an hour or two. This time is not wasted, it’s as much an investment in my company as theirs and can only help to strengthen online presence/ SEO & backlinks.

Lee Stuart, L S Creative

I definitely see the value in collaborating with other SEOs, particularly when it comes to exchanging links. That said, it’s important to approach link swaps and collaboration pieces with caution. For any collaboration to be worthwhile, the links must be genuinely beneficial to both sites. If the content and audience aren’t a good fit, the links won’t add value and could even have a negative impact.

Interestingly, I noticed a big spike in emails about link swaps toward the end of last year. While it's great to see people reaching out, I always advise being selective. Not all links are created equal, and a poor-quality or irrelevant link can do more harm than good in the long run.

Melanie Serrano-Fenney, Quirky Digital

Building relationships and working together with other SEO specialists undeniably makes link building easier. One particular method I have used is collaborating on guest posts.
Essentially, you team up with a blog editor or an SEO professional to create a piece together, and both of you can include helpful links in the content of the article.

This kind of collaboration is beneficial for both sides since you are not just sharing links for the sake of it; you are creating valuable, high-quality content that can help improve the performance of both websites. It also adds credibility because you're collaborating with someone who has expertise in the same or a related field. And finally, it is a great way to expose yourself to a new audience and display your brand.

What I really like about this approach is that it is completely ethical and avoids any shady tactics that can result in penalties. Instead of taking shortcuts, you are building relationships and using content as a natural way to earn links.

Over time, these collaborations can lead to better rankings and a stronger reputation within the SEO community.

Boris Dzhingarov, ESBO Ltd

I do collaborate with other SEOs. I think SEO's should work together and there is a lot of room for everyone. Links are definitely a good reason. But another big reason is getting traffic to my sites. If another SEO has a website with a similar target audience, collaboration can bring in actual users and leads, which is much better than just a backlink.

Priyansh Kothari, Stargazer

The first is that I will often use websites like Qwoted or Connectively (formerly HARO) to source experts for blog posts and similar content. When I put out quote requests for anything even remotely related to SEO, I'll hear back from many SEO experts. Much of their advice is great, too, so we'll end up using it! Then, when we do so, we simply tag them on social media and ask them to link back to our article. Some do, some don't. But on average, it's a very effective way to earn backlinks (not to mention make content writing easier).

Brandon Rollins, Pangea Marketing Agency

For me, collaborating with other SEOs has been one of the most effective ways to get organic backlinks. It’s not just about guest posting on each other’s blogs; it’s also about building a solid network of professionals who recognize your contribution to the industry and feel comfortable endorsing your work in other publications. I’ve found that when you build good relationships with these people, they’re more likely to include your content in their posts because they know it’s useful and worth sharing.

Link building, in my experience, has always been about forming strong partnerships. Over the years, I’ve seen firsthand how important it is to reach out to the right people if you want to scale up your link building efforts.

It’s a numbers game, and to keep receiving natural links from new websites, you need to continually expand your network of partners. However, I’ve learned that it’s just as important to be selective about who you collaborate with. The people you partner with reflect your brand, so it’s crucial to ensure they align with your values and the quality of work you want to be associated with. Ultimately, it’s all about building trust and making sure the partnerships are mutually beneficial.

Nikola Baldikov, InBound Blogging

We have occassionally collaborated with other SEOs in the past to build links. What we did was to swap content with other SEOs in the form of guest articles. A quid pro quo really, we each published a relevant, well written article on a client's site.

However, it proved hard to find really relevant opportunities and we were unable to scale. We noticed a lot of 'ncihe edit' exchanges taking place, though I think these do not offer much value and I avoid them.

We now build links using digital PR, by collaborating with journalists via Qwoted, Featured.com, press releases, and by writig content that features data that can be used as a source by journalists (we can thank Brian Dean for this one). It's harder work and output is lower in terms of quantity, but it gives us much better quality links.

Link building is a marathon, not a sprint, as Brian Dean himself says. In 2025, you won't see benefit from paid links, niche edits and these quick win links.

Michelle Symonds, Ditto Digital

Collaborations are very beneficial since they are real and they enhance the experience of the readers. They make the content more interesting and also expose your audience to other industry specialists. Unlike disreputable link farms, this method is in a category that adheres to ethical and white-hat practices in SEO. The creation of such partnerships not only enhances one’s trust and authority but also builds trust among the members of the community. More SEO practitioners should engage in this type of activity.

Brandon Schroth, Reporter Outreach

I have collaborated with on-page SEO experts to promote their content and get links. Working together we were able to get a number of links that were tailored to the niche of the content they were trying to promote.

There are also link exchange opportunities, which are a bit of a grey area, but can be helpful if done from time to time. I have seen many people use these to get links on their site and exchange links on each others so that each site benefits.

There is a lot of knowledge share between SEO's and almost everyone is willing to share what is working for them and how it could work for you.

James Gibbon, offDApage

SEO Link building is the Everest of SEO and we have done this before, trying to scale the mountain of quality backlinks. Link networks, are just a big no no. But collaborating on content is a different story. Back then on a SaaS project, we were collaborating with another SEO outfit for a different niche but with the same idea of creating a go-to place for all-things related to a niche.

We decided to co author a piece on Scaling SaaS Growth through SEO. For both technical SEO and content marketing aspects we each brought our expertise to the table. After we wrote what we need to, we published each on our blog with a link back to each other. The important part was that we placed these links in context and added value to the reader experience. They were not just thrown links, they went with the narrative and made the content a little deeper.

This had nothing to do with playing the system, this had to do with creating something that was helpful for our audience, and that wasn't so much of an SEO love thing. They weren’t just getting a ton of backlinks, the articles were actually valuable. The collaboration was transparent, felt very smooth, the content we made was top notch and it was beneficial for both of us because of all the exposure and the backlink juice. That’s ETHICAL link building where linking partnership and quality is important.

Paul DeMott, Helium SEO

We do a bit of collaboration with trusted SEOs, specifically in linkbuilding, largely because it's not our top area of expertise. It might be surprising for a marketing company to admit that something is not in their wheelhouse, but it's actually a healthy approach to making sure that we are on top of all deliverables to our clients. A lot of our clients are looking for ways to get earned media as an organic linkbuilding method. Right now, we don't have the capacity to address such requests at scale, so we collaborate with other agencies to have these delivered.

Ben DeLoach, Westover Web

Collaboration with other SEOs is a key part of my strategy, particularly through platforms like HARO and Qwoted. Responding to journalist queries allows me to share expertise on topics ranging from technical SEO to content marketing, which often leads to high-quality backlinks from reputable publications. These interactions not only help build authority for the sites I work with but also foster connections within the SEO community. While it’s not direct collaboration in creating content, it’s an effective way to contribute knowledge and gain links organically.

Muhammad Ummar Rashid, Digital Willow

Affiliate programs are a great way to to create an SEO partnership. It creates strong incentives to backlink and grow the relationship with high authority blogs and website.

John Rich, A Rich Opinion

One of the most useful projects we worked together on was writing a guide on new SEO trends. We shared our ideas and split up the work to make the guide more comprehensive and interesting. By putting this on our platforms, we were able to link back to each other in a real way, which increased the worth of our content for readers and created natural backlinks. It works because it's transparent, it builds trust, and doesn't rely on dodgy technologies like link networks.

Cooperation is more than SEO: it's about forming real relationships with other people who support both of your missions. You can reach more people without selling out.

Filip Dimitrijevski, Click Vision

On the topic of trying to get links, we have a pretty interesting and not well known process to land DR 80+ links for free. They're great for building branded authority.

We publish images on Flickr with creative commons licensing that allows people to use the image for free if they attribute it with a link. Journalists and people looking for free images then do exactly that!

It results in a stream of links coming in on autopilot. These can't be the only form of links a site relies on of course, but they're great for a steady stream of solid DR, branded links helping overall authority.

Michael Costin, The SEO Show and Local Digital

In the SEO world, collaboration and long-term partnership is valuable. We once partnered with an industry-related blog focused on business financing, where we co-authored a piece on the latest trends in financing for the construction sector. The content provided valuable info for both of our audiences while allowing us to exchange links in an organic way. It also added SEO value to the article. Both our target audiences benefited from both perspectives. It boosted our visibility and authority within the industry, as seen in the metrics.

Working together allowed us to reach a wider audience, and because the content was relevant and informative, the backlinks we shared felt organic and mutually beneficial. That partnership resulted in both improved search rankings and stronger relationships within our industry.

Gerti Mema, Equipment Finance Canada

I have occasionally worked with other SEOs generally to provide shared valuable resources. For a blog post, for example, we once paired off and naturally linked each other's work. For our audience, it was clear, effective, and practical.

When cooperation is honest and focused on adding value rather than merely connecting ideas, it is perfect. It is also a great way to network and develop from other people.

Georgi Todorov, Create & Grow

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