As part of their routine refresh, Google updated its web search policy documentation on September 25th, 2024. The latest update includes the addition of more details to the site reputation abuse policy and clarifications on the existing areas of spam search policies.
In their spam policy clarification, Google stated that they have, “Clarified some wording in our spam policies for Google web search to focus more on what web spam is and the tactics involved. Also integrated an explanation of close involvement from our blog post for easier reference, and clarified that trying to circumvent our policies can also result in ranking lower or not at all.”
The reason for these changes is stated as, “We review and refresh our documentation periodically. This update is part of that process.”
The ideal way for businesses to ahead with such updates is to reach out to a search engine optimization company.
Here are the highlights of Google’s latest spam search update:
New Definition to the Site Reputation Abuse Policy
The biggest change is the introduction of a new paragraph to the site reputation abuse section given below:
“Close oversight or involvement is when the first-party hosting site is directly producing or generating unique content (for example, via staff directly employed by the first-party, or freelancers working for staff of the first-party site). It is not working with third-party services (such as “white-label” or “turnkey”) that focus on redistributing content with the primary purpose of manipulating search rankings.”
The last example, “Coupons that are listed with close involvement of the hosting site”, specified in the “examples that are NOT considered site reputation abuse include:” is now,
“Coupons that are sourced directly from merchants and other businesses that serve consumers.”
More Information about Manual Action Consequences
Google expanded a sentence in the Policy Circumvention section to include an example about the consequences that a site may face if it continues to spam:
“…and taking broader action in Google Search (for example, removing more sections of a site from Search results).”
The first bullet point, “Creating or using multiple sites with the intention of continuing to violate our policies” has been rewritten as “Using existing or creating new subdomains, subdirectories, or sites with the intention of continuing to violate our policies”.
Updated and Revised Paragraphs
Another significant aspect of the updated web spam policy includes the following changes to make it more concise and relevant for webmasters:
A new introductory sentence was added to the beginning of the spam policies documentation page to define what Google considers spam. The new definition is:
“In the context of Google Search, spam is web content that’s designed to deceive users or manipulate our Search systems in order to rank highly.”
The rest of this section contains the following changes to sentences to make it more concise:
“We detect policy-violating content and behaviors..” modified as “We detect policy-violating practices…”
The old start of the fourth paragraph, “Our policies cover common forms of spam, but Google may act against any type of spam we detect.” is now, “Our policies cover common spam practices, but Google may act against any type of spam practices we detect.”
The Doorways section title is revised as Doorway abuse, and the first sentence of the section changed from,” Doorways are sites or pages created…” to ”Doorway abuse is when sites or pages are created…”
The title of the Hidden text and links section is also changed to Hidden text and link abuse, along with a revision at the beginning of the paragraph from,”Hidden text or links is the act of placing…” to “Hidden text or link abuse is the practice of placing…”
The Machine-generated traffic section is updated to include a new definition, “Machine-generated traffic (also called automated traffic) refers to the practice of sending automated queries to Google. This includes scraping results for rank-checking purposes or other types of automated access to Google Search conducted without express permission.”
In the Malware and malicious practice section, “Google checks websites to see whether they host malware or unwanted software that negatively affects the user experience.” is now, “Google checks to see whether websites host malware or unwanted software that negatively affects the user experience.”
In the Sneaky redirects section, the second sentence, “Sneaky redirecting is doing…” has been changed to,”Sneaky redirecting is the practice of doing…”
The Thin affliate pages has been retitled as Thin affliation, in which the first sentence “Thin affiliate pages are pages with product affiliate links on which the product…” is now: “Thin affiliation is the practice of publishing content with product affiliate links where the product…”
Removal of Sentences
Google has removed and refreshed some of the text in its web spam policy:
In the Link Spam section: “Google uses links as a factor in determining the relevancy of web pages. Any links that are intended to manipulate rankings in Google Search results may be considered link spam. This includes any behavior that manipulates links to your site or outgoing links from your site”, has been deleted and replaced with,
“Link spam is the practice of creating links to or from a site primarily for the purpose of manipulating search rankings.”
The Scraped Content section is now titled Scraping and provides the definition of scraped content as:
“Scraping refers to the practice of taking content from other sites, often through automated means, and hosting it with the purpose of manipulating search rankings. Examples of abusive scraping include:
- Republishing content from other sites without adding any original content or value, or even citing the original source
- Copying content from other sites, modify it only slightly (for example, by substituting synonyms or using automated techniques), and republish it
- Reproducing content feeds from other sites without providing some type of unique benefit to the user
- Creating sites dedicated to embedding or compiling content, such as videos, images, or other media from other sites, without substantial added value to the user”
The introductory paragraph in Misleading Functionality has been shortened from: “Site owners should create websites with high quality content and useful functionality that benefits users. However, some site owners intend to manipulate search ranking by intentionally creating sites with misleading functionality and services that trick users into thinking they would be able to access some content or services but in reality cannot”, to :“Misleading functionality refers to the practice of intentionally creating sites that trick users into thinking they would be able to access some content or services but in reality can’t”.
While the spam policies documentation update doesn’t include any new rules, it provides site owners with a clearer understanding of what Google constitutes as spam.
It is crucial for business owners and webmasters to be aware of the latest Google policies and guidelines for compliance and maintain high SERP visibility for their websites. Hiring professional SEO services is a practical strategy to ensure best SEO practices and compliance with Google’s evolving guidelines.
