Google just rolled out their latest algorithm update set to penalise websites with high levels of spam content. The updates were release on the 19th of October 2022 with all roll out being complete by the 21 of October.
This is the 8th major change Google has announced in 2022. The changes are consistent with Googles mission of providing high quality, reliable content to all searches. More changes around the integrate of website content are anticipated in the future.
The October 2022 Spam Update in a Nutshell
Over the years the Google algorithm has evolved to better detect spammy, low-quality website content. Occasionally Google will roll out major improvements to the spam detection system. This ensures websites that don’t comply with Google’s spam policies are penalised and not easily accessible to users in the search results.
This October (2022) Google rolled out changes to their algorithm which purely focused on improving Googles ability to detect and penalised websites with spam content. This includes:
- Cloaked content
- Content Doorways
- Hacked website content
- Hidden text and links
- Keyword stuffing
- Link spam
- Bot traffic
- Malware and malicious behaviour
- Misleading functionality & redirects
- Scraped content and machine generate content
- User-generated spam
How does Google detect Spam?
In 2018 Google released SpamBrain, which uses AI to detect websites with spam content. Just like a good email spam protector keeps junk mail out of your inbox, SpamBrain keeps spammy websites out of the top search results.
Details on how SpamBrain detects spam is a closely guarded secret by Google. This is to prevent attempts to mislead the AI.
Google have stated the advanced system has detected more than 200 times the number of spam websites compared to 20 years ago.
In the earlier days it was very difficult for Google to identify content website spam. Google would heavily rely on keywords in content to determine website content. This lead to an influx of users creating spam content to mislead the search engines algorithm.
Now does Googles spam detection AI can detect more than just website spam. It can also identify troublesome and malicious behaviours amongst billions of websites. Google have stated that their use of this AI system has enabled them to keep searches 99% free of spam content.
How will the October 2022 Spam Update affect my website?
If you’ve been operating your website in accordance with Google webmaster guidelines then you’re likely gain a boost in your website rankings.
With the rise of businesses utilising SEO to increase sales, so too has there been a rise in businesses (and SEO providers) generating spam content. These websites will ultimately see a decline in rankings with the October Spam Update.
Why do people post spam content to websites?
As you might be aware, regularly posting written content to your website is a great way to improve your website rankings. This is because Google rewards websites that provide useful information and updates. This is why you can almost Google any topic imageable and find information on it.
However, people have tried to take advantage of this for personal gain. One tactic used by website owners is to chur out low-quality articles, stuffed with keywords with the intention of improving website rankings and increase traffic. These articles leave users frustrated as they provide very little value and doesn’t contain the information users were looking for.
Concerned this could deter user from trusting the search engine, Google have released many updates to their algorithm used to detect spam content on websites and hide it deep with the search results.
What to do if your rankings have been penalised?
If you’ve noticed a drop in your website rankings, we recommend that you review and rewrite any website content that goes against Googles spam policy. This is particularly important if most of your content has been spun from other websites.
If your website content is outdated, now is a good time to go through and update any written content that hasn’t been touched in years. Furthermore, we mention to add to any blog posts and expand on the topics.
What to do moving forward
Google has been pushing for high-quality content for the last few years. As the algorithm has advanced, so to has the ability to detect and penalise low-quality content. Moving forward we recommend all website owners to take the time to create meaningful content that help users.
Content should be written with in intention of helping the user, and not written to improve website rankings. Naturally, this can take a lot longer to produce. However, the benefits will definitely payoff in the long run.
