What is Google’s October 2023 Spam Update?

Google has introduced many updates over the years, such as the Google Panda update back in 2011. The most recent update to their algorithm is their spam detection systems enhancement, and it will affect users globally.

This alteration targets various content to reduce the spam results users can see. 

The types of spam include the following:

• Auto-generated content
• Cloaking – misleading users and manipulating search rankings by presenting different content to search engines and users.
• Hacked content – content uploaded to a site without permission by taking advantage of its security vulnerabilities.
• Scraped content

The October 2023 spam update will also impact spam in numerous languages, including the following:

• Chinese
• Hindi
• Indonesian
• Turkish
• Vietnamese

This list of languages is not comprehensive.

What Does Google Consider to be Spam?

There are various things that Google considers spam, such as hidden links or text. Specifically, these are the text or links that a search engine can see but website users cannot. Equally, if an affiliate page focuses heavily on monetisation, it is considered spam.

These are not the only ones, however. Autogenerated content with no user value and large-scale article scraping when the user hasn’t given permission are also impacted. Similarly, Google’s criteria include a page that offers a poor user experience due to distracting ads.

What Does the Google Spam Update Hold for the Future?

The new update to Google’s spam detection systems initially came out on October 4, 2023, but it will take a few weeks to roll out properly. Throughout this time, however, Google encourages users to access their spam reporting tool to submit feedback about web pages.

You may find that your website is impacted during this time, which may be due to the update. If your website sees a change after the spam update, you can view Google’s spam policies.

Spam is a constant issue with online content, and Google is battling to reduce its impact on users. Their strategies are constantly evolving, and their techniques are always changing, meaning we will no doubt see newer updates in the future.

If you have any issues, Google’s Spam Reporting Tool enables you to report spam pages and give feedback. By getting involved, you can help Google reduce spam’s impact on its users.