Google Launches (Final?) Spam Update Of The Year via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Google announced the rollout of the December 2024 spam update.

The update, expected to be completed within a week, arrives amid ongoing industry discussions about the effectiveness of Google’s spam-fighting measures.

This December update caps off a year of spam-fighting measures, including the June Spam Update and the March Core Update, which targeted policy-violating websites and aimed to reduce “unhelpful” content by 40%.

It’s also worth mentioning that this update closely follows the December core update.

Today we released the December 2024 spam update.

It may take up to 1 week to complete, and we'll post on the Google Search Status Dashboard when the rollout is done: https://t.co/L7n9n3Nh6X

— Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) December 19, 2024

Looking Back At A Year Of Updates

This year saw an unprecedented frequency of major algorithm updates, with core updates in March, August, November, and December.

The August update, which took nearly three weeks to complete, targeted low-value SEO content while promoting high-quality material.

The December core update, launched on December 12, came unusually close to the November update, with Google explaining that different systems are often improved in parallel.

Policy Transformation

This year marked a shift in Google’s approach to spam detection and prevention with three major policy updates.

1.Site Reputation Abuse

Introduced in May 2024, Google began targeting “parasite SEO” practices where third-party content exploits established domains’ authority.

This update mainly affected:

• Major publishers hosting third-party product reviews
• News sites with extensive coupon sections
• Sports websites with AI-generated content

The policy change led to notable casualties, including several high-profile publishers receiving manual actions for hosting third-party content without sufficient oversight.

2. Expired Domain Abuse

Google’s enhanced focus on expired domain manipulation addressed:

• Purchase of expired domains for backlink exploitation
• Repurposing authoritative domains for unrelated content
• Domain squatting for search ranking manipulation

3. Scaled Content Abuse

Previously known as “spammy auto-generated content,” this rebranded policy expanded to include:

• AI-generated content at scale
• Mass-produced content across multiple sites
• Content translation manipulation
• Automated content transformation techniques

See more: An In-Depth Look At Google Spam Policies Updates And What Changed

Spam-Specific Updates

June 2024 Spam Update

• Week-long implementation period
• Focused on policy-violating websites
• Enhanced detection of automated content

November 2024 SRA Enforcement

• Implementation of site reputation abuse penalties
• Affected major publishers’ sponsored content strategies
• Required significant content policy adjustments across news sites

Looking Ahead

With the December core update having completed its rollout and the new spam update now underway, prepare for another round of potential ranking fluctuations through the end of the year.

The spam update is expected to be completed next week, with progress tracked through Google’s Search Status Dashboard.

Featured Image: JHVEPhoto/Shutterstock

SEJ STAFF Matt G. Southern Senior News Writer at Search Engine Journal

Matt G. Southern, Senior News Writer, has been with Search Engine Journal since 2013. With a bachelor’s degree in communications, ...