Google Spam Update October 2022 Complete Guide
Google’s automated systems for detecting spam in search results work without interruption, but Google sometimes makes noticeable improvements to its operation. Google refers to these changes as Anti-Spam Updates and will notify you when they become available in our list of Google Search Ranking Updates.
SpamBrain is one of the AI-based spam prevention systems. From time to time, Google improves this system to optimize its spam detection performance and to ensure that it detects new types of spam.
If site owners see any changes after an anti-spam update, Google recommends reviewing the Spam Policy to ensure they follow it. Sites that violate our guidelines may rank google in the results or not appear. If automated systems indicate that a site complies with our spam policies after analyzing it for several months, it may be worth modifying that site to improve its performance.
Google announces Google Spam Update October 19, 2022
Finally, Google announced a Google spam update on October 19, 2022. They linked to this document about SpamBrain, their AI solution to combat spam. Google said Spam Brain is good at fighting “behaviours that try to narrowly avoid violating [its] quality guidelines but are still manipulative in nature.” One of the examples given is that it is able to identify if product reviews are just rewritten product descriptions or efficient reviews.
In 2002, Google launched a site owner guidelines page that included an overview of best practices when building a site. This page is called “Google Webmaster Guidelines” and has been with us since its launch. Since then, Google has added a lot of information to these guidelines to help site owners build the right site for Google Search visitors.
Google Guidelines update 2022
The following are the major updated guideline
What changed
The update includes some changes. Because the entire Search Central site is, by definition, a set of guidelines and best practices, Google has moved many of the above guidelines to the specific sections they pertain to simplify the site. Next, Google presents a categorization of the points that Google covered in the previous Google webmaster guidelines:
Technical requirements
A new section focusing on technical requirements
The technical requirements are few and simple: publish content in a format that Google can index and allow you to access. This is the bare minimum to access Google Search results. Google ver, Google knows there are more steps to take to get your site indexed and published, and Google encourages you to think about key best practices.
Spam Policies
Spam policies cover common spam and behaviour that could cause a site to rank on Google or not appear in Google Search results. Most of the topics Google took from the previous “quality guidelines” and other existing guidelines available on Search Central that Google re stand-alone, such as malware and hacked content. The new additions and outstanding modifications are the following:
Added new topics related to deceptive behaviours, such as deceptive functionalities.
Google Added a new section on other behaviours that can lead to demotion or removal, such as online bullying, scam, and fraud.
Consolidated issues related to link spam and worthless content:
Google asked the Search quality team to rewrite the content to address the spam you see on the internet today, using a more precise language where possible, as Google ll add more concrete and relevant examples during 2022. Google think they delivered with the goal and that the new version will help site owners avoid creating content that Search users absolutely hate.
Best Practices for Success
Finally, the Key Best Practices are a set of practices that Google thinks people should consider when building sites. While meeting the requirements can get you (and keep) sites in Search, best practices are a way to bring your sites to life, so they’re easier to find.
You may have also noticed that Google has moved pages around in Search Central over the past few months. Google organizes the information in a more logical structure and consolidates similar pages, but generally, Google does not change the content.
Avoid Black Hat SEO Tactics
According to Google some of the most common black hat SEO tactics that you should avoid are
Camouflage
Cloaking is a black hat SEO technique in which a website displays different content to humans and search engine crawlers. The goal of cloaking is to improve a website’s ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs) by providing search engine crawlers with content that is optimized for specific keywords. Should avoid cloaking activities.
Hidden Links
Hidden links are another Black Hat SEO tactic to avoid. Hidden links are hidden in the code of your website, designed to improve your website’s ranking on Google, but they are also against Google’s terms of service.
Excessive Anchor Text
Excessive anchor text is a problem that plagues many website owners. For those unfamiliar with the term, anchor text is the visible text that appears on a web page
Keyword Stuffing
Keyword stuffing is a black hat SEO technique where a web page is loaded with an excessive number of keywords in an attempt to manipulate search engine rankings.
