The Update Rolled Out Over the Course of Three Days
On October 19, Google’s Search Console Twitter account posted that they had released the October 2022 Spam Update. And as of October 22, the rollout was completed.
This is the first spam-related update we have received this year, with the last spam update being released back in November 2021. So let’s dig into what spam updates cover.
Key Facts About Spam Updates
- Google’s spam updates use SpamBrain, the AI-based spam protection they launched in 2018.
- Spam updates are global and impact websites of all languages as they intend to get rid of low-quality sites that take measures to manipulate their rankings.
- If you find your website’s visibility has dropped after a spam update, Google encourages you to check their spam policies to ensure you are abiding by the proper guidelines.
- Hacking content, scraping content, and hiding texts and links are just a few examples of some behaviors Google deems spammy.
- This specific spam update comes shortly after we experienced three major search updates in August and September, as well as shortly after Google revised its Search Essentials, which we talked about in our previous newsletter.
Search Updates We Have Had So Far in 2022
- February – Page Experience on Desktop
- March – Product Reviews Update
- May – Broad Core Update
- July – Product Reviews Update
- August – Helpful Content Update
- September – Broad Core Update and Product Reviews Update
- October – Spam Update
