tedster - 10:21 pm on Jul 18, 2012 (gmt 0)

Google has been very clear that both Panda and Penguin are algorithms and not penalties. In fact, they no longer use the word "penalty" but rather talk about "manual actions" - what we have always called penalties, in other words.

If you submit a Reconsideration Request for a site with a Panda or Penguin demotion, your reply tells you that there is no manual action against the website.

All that said, Penguin sure does seem to act more like an old-school penalty than a new algorithm factor - doesn't it?

why not watch and see what plays out over the coming days, could be nothing, could be huge. I was just adding that I too am starting to see recovery at the 3 month mark, just as others are reporting.

I agree. There's every chance that one or both of the algorithms have been changed and that Update is what we're seeing. In that case, all kinds of things may have changed for at least some affected sites.