Google’s Unwelcomed Spam Update
Google’s recent spam update has sparked a wave of criticism within the search marketing and publishing community. Following months of disruptive updates and the controversial rollout of AI Overviews, the mood is somber among website owners.
The response to Google’s spam update has been overwhelmingly negative. Many feel that the update unfairly prioritizes big players, leading to a significant drop in traffic for smaller independent sites.
Does the SPAM stand for “Small Publishers Are Meaningless”? I miss the days when updates favored better content rather than prioritizing big players and killing content sites by calling them spam.
Not The Update Publishers Are Waiting For
Google’s March 2024 Core Update, which lasted around 45 days, severely impacted the rankings of numerous websites. Despite Google discontinuing the Helpful Content system (HCU), many site owners and SEOs affected by last year’s HCU are eagerly awaiting a new update to address the issues caused.
One user took to Twitter to express their concerns:
@JohnMu @searchliaison can this update remove the sitewide classifier still applied to sites since last September HCU? Or do we need to wait for a larger core update?
Another user shared a screenshot showing a drastic decrease in their web traffic:
Google is coming after my last 6 organic visitors ???? Bring it on! Let’s see if we get to 0.
Many others have voiced similar frustrations, with some reporting losses of up to 95% in traffic from previous updates.
It seems that Google’s recent update has missed the mark for many. Some believe that the changes in how Google defines site quality or relevance could be the root cause of their troubles. There is hope that Google will reconsider its approach.
Backlash Against Pinterest In SERPs
Some users have expressed dissatisfaction with how Google ranks websites, particularly favoring Pinterest over other sources. They hope that the spam update will address this issue and give smaller websites a fair chance to appear in search results.
Backlash About Reddit in SERPs
There is also a common sentiment that Google ranks Reddit too frequently in search results, overshadowing potentially more relevant sources. Users are eager to see how the spam update will impact Reddit’s presence in SERPs.
What About The Site Reputation Update?
Site reputation abuse, a form of spam where marketers leverage third-party websites for quick rankings, is a concern for many. Google has clarified that the recent spam update does not specifically target site reputation abuse.
Despite the lack of detailed information about the spam update, the digital marketing community remains skeptical and critical of Google’s recent actions.
Google Has A Sentiment Problem
From AI Overviews to the recent spam update, Google’s series of changes have fueled negative sentiment within the digital marketing community. The leaked data has only added to the distrust, with some accusing Google of dishonesty.
Not only the search marketing community but also independent web publishers and major news organizations have grown wary of Google. The accumulation of negative sentiment over the past year has now overshadowed what would typically be a celebrated spam update.
For more information, you can read Google’s spam announcement here.
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