On October 19, 2022, Google announced plans to roll out a global spam update to Google Search that will affect all languages. The official Google list of announced updates predicted the rollout would take about two weeks. However, by October 21, Google completed its 2022 spam update in under 48 hours. Continue reading to learn more about Google spam updates to search results and implications for your website’s ranking.
Today we released the October 2022 spam update. Find out more about spam updates at https://t.co/XthD5GF06M . We'll update our ranking release history page when the rollout is complete: https://t.co/sQ5COfvo3J
— Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) October 19, 2022
What is the Google Search Spam Update?
To maintain useful search results and improve its automated spam-detecting systems, Google issues search spam updates on a regular basis. As explained by Google, their “automated systems identify the most relevant and reliable information from hundreds of billions of pages in [their] index to help people find what they’re looking for.” At the same time, Google’s evaluation process analyzes spam sources, including “low-quality sites that trick users into providing personal information or installing malware.” Other targets of Google’s continuous spam updates are phishing scams or deceitful actors who pose as relevant sources.
What impact does the Google Search Spam Update have?
It’s important to note that spam updates can demote a site’s ranking in search results or remove it entirely from Google’s index. Additionally, inadequately secured sites can fall victim to spam hacks that unknowingly serve spam to visitors. In turn, spam attacks can negatively impact a site’s ranking.
Research indicates that much of Google’s latest spam update targeted websites with thin content, poorly created meta tags, and keyword stuffing, especially for AI Generated content. In turn, these sites experienced drops in traffic and keyword rankings. Among the industries feeling the greatest effects were sports and news sites oriented for content compared to products.
Should your site’s ranking suddenly drop after Google’s 2022 spam update, Google urges the following advice:
“Sites that see a change after a spam update should review our spam policies to ensure they are complying with those. Sites that violate our policies may rank lower in results or not appear in results at all. Making changes may help a site improve if our automated systems learn over a period of months that the site complies with our spam policies.”
Contact Overdrive Interactive to speak with one of our marketing experts to ensure your website complies with Google’s spam policies and ranks well.
