Following the Helpful Content Update of September 2023, Google has now released an update in the way its servers detect spam, which is set to be rolled out over the coming weeks.
This is the next step in the way Google strives to prioritise quality, human-written content over pages where monetisation is the main goal. The October Spam Update, which covers content globally and in multiple languages, will see a reduction in spam results for users worldwide.
What does Google view as spam?
Generally, pages with hidden agendas, such as affiliate postings with poor-quality content, are among Google’s main targets for filtering out what it considers junk. Others include automatically generated content that has been created by AI (artificial intelligence), large-scale plagiarised text, or pages loaded with ads that lead to a negative browsing experience.
Websites that sneakily redirect users to other pages, or engage in practices like cloaking, should also be wary of the new update.
Google periodically releases updates like this to provide the best possible experience for the search engine user, keeping its results pages clean of spam and rewarding quality human content over AI-generated jargon. Systems such as SpamBrain, which ironically uses AI, can help to target websites that aren’t genuine, meaning that site owners should be wary when choosing not to adhere to the new guidelines set out by the search engine mogul.
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