Google has confirmed that a change to its search algorithm that is meant to stop spam is being made to search results around the world and in all languages.
Google thinks that the spam update for October 2022 will take a few days to roll out.
Details about spam updates are rarely given, except when they are meant to stop certain kinds of spam, like the link spam update from last year.
Google sends out spam updates often to keep the quality of its search results at a high level. The goal of the spam updates is to make Google’s automated systems, which are always running in the background to find spam in search results, even better.
If you follow what used to be called the Google Webmaster Guidelines but is now called Google Search Essentials, you probably don’t have much to worry about with the October 2022 spam update.
How Google Sees Spam?
Google’s definition of spam says that it’s hard to do something wrong and not know about it. Google has a strict definition of what it calls spam, and most low-quality sites that trick people into giving them personal information or installing malware fall into this category.
Spam updates also go after phishing scams and other bad actors on the web who try to rank in search results by pretending to be highly relevant pages.
Even though websites with thin content that doesn’t add much value might be considered spammy, Google doesn’t consider them to be spam. Google’s Helpful Content algorithm is more likely to find thin content.
If you don’t know what Google considers spam, you should look at the new Google Search Essentials.
Even sites that use Google’s Search Essentials can be hacked and used to send spam. If a site’s security isn’t good enough, it could be sending spam to users without realizing it.
What To Expect From This Update
If your site’s ranking suddenly drops after the October 2022 spam update, you should check your site’s security and look for signs of an attack.
When a spam update hits a site, its content is either moved down in the search results or taken out of Google’s index.
Google says it could take months for a website to recover from the effects of a spam update if it doesn’t make the changes it needs to make to follow Google’s spam policies.
