In December 2022, Google began rolling out a revised link spam update using SpamBrain AI to minimise the impact of link spam on search results.
The full rollout will take up to two weeks and aims to neutralise links that the system detects as being spam. Once neutralised, spammy links will no longer contribute to a site’s search rankings, which means any “link credit” they might have passed on will be lost.
Additionally, this update is a global launch affecting all languages. According to Google, this update is the first real implementation of its AI-based spam detection system, SpamBrain, for link spam purposes.
"it can now detect both sites buying links" fro m our post covers this. It's possible we've used it in some edge / minor situations, but this is the first real implementation of it for link spam (hence why we did a post about it) https://t.co/LLngrATiLV
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) December 14, 2022
What This Update Changes
Google’s December 2022 link spam update aims to improve search quality by preventing artificial manipulation of search rankings. With the help of SpamBrain AI, this update can detect spammy links from both:
a) sites that buy or pay for links and,
b) sites that are used primarily for passing outgoing links inorganically.
Any links detected from these sites will be flagged as spam.
From Google: “As we have always emphasized, links obtained primarily for artificial manipulation of Search rankings are link spam. Our algorithms and manual actions aim to nullify these unnatural links at scale, and we will continue to improve our coverage.”
For users, this update translates to a better search experience that lets them find high-quality information relevant to their queries–as opposed to content that uses link spam to artificially bolster its rankings.
How to Know If This Update Affects Your Site
You will not receive any notifications on Google Search Console of whether or not this update affects your website. Like any algorithmic update, changes to your rankings will happen automatically in the background, so you will have to monitor your site proactively to spot any fluctuations.
Your Next Steps
If you start to see big drops in your Google visibility and traffic while implementing link-building tactics, there is a possibility that you were hit by this update. In this situation, some actions you should take include the following:
- Disavow spammy links to your website through Google Search Console
- Stop buying or paying for links to your website if you were previously doing so
- Only use legitimate, white-hat tactics to improve your rankings
- Conduct an audit of your site to gather more data
Level Up SEO Link Tactics for Your Site
You can also stay up-to-date with all the latest Google changes with SEO experts at Digital Animals.
We can help you audit and monitor your site links to make sure your website is optimised for Google updates and more. Check out our SEO services, and let’s discuss how we can help.