Google’s 2024 Core Spam Update – Impact & Implications

What You Should Know About Google’s June 2024 Core Spam Update

At the end of June 2024, Google implemented a core spam update – but what exactly this update entails is somewhat nebulous. There was a time when Google offered more clarity on each update made, but Google has been less forthcoming with their aims for the recent rolling core updates. Continue reading to learn more about what is targeted by this recent Google core update.

What Google’s Spam Policy Targets

To learn what has been changed by a new Google core update, it’s always best to start by referencing Google’s spam policy. Google is transparent and thorough with their list of what is considered spam and what their core updates target. Here is a list of what is covered by Google’s spam policy:

• Cloaking
• Doorway Pages
• Expired Domain Abuse
• Hacked Content
• Hidden Text & Links
• Keyword Stuff
• Link Spam
• Machine-Generated Traffic
• Malware & Malicious Behaviors
• Misleading Functionality
• Scaled Content Abuse
• Scraped Content
• Site Reputation Abuse
• Sneaky Redirects
• Thin Affiliate Pages
• User-Generated

This list can be separated into two categories: malicious spam and non-malicious spam. Malicious spam is things like hacked content, cloaking, and malware which are deliberately designed to be harmful for the sake of achieving higher rankings. Non-malicious spam occurs when a site does something that Google flags as wrong but is not intended to be harmful. Doorway pages, keyword stuffing, and thin affiliate pages are examples of this type of spam.

The item on this list which was most heavily impacted by the June 2024 Google core update is scaled content abuse. In case you don’t know the term, scaled content abuse is mass-producing written web content that prioritizes quantity over quality for the sake of higher Google search rankings.

Recently, many websites have been guilty of scaled content abuse by generating multiple new pages using AI programs like ChatGPT. In the recent update, Google specifically addresses that they are targeting websites that use AI tools to generate many new pages which add no real value to users. If you’ve been using AI to create many new pages for your website, beware that you will eventually be penalized by a Google core spam update.

Do You Have Questions About Google’s Spam Policy?

If you’re still not sure whether or not your website practices could be flagged as spam by Google, it would be wise to talk to a digital marketing specialist. Connect with NorthWing Digital today if you’d like to learn more about Google’s spam policy and associated core updates.