A Sneak Peek into the Important Google Spam Updates

Google rolled out its November spam update over eight days. While it is too early to predict its ramifications, you would feel the ramifications if you were involved in any form of spamming effort targeted by this algorithm change. The recent spam update has more to do with content and not so much with links. The link spam update happened around July 2021. There have been other updates this year. Nevertheless, let’s focus on spam updates for better understanding to avoid unwanted troubles. So what is spam according to Google?

November Spam Update: Google’s definition of spam

The search engine mogul has always been strict about quality, and its recent algorithm changes reflect nothing but this. According to Google, any low-quality website that requires user personal information or encourages the installation of malware is spam. An example could also be a website pretending to be another trusted website or a phishing scam. Why do you have to worry about it? Any significant change in organic ranking or traffic from Google search results indicates the effect of spam updates. Your site may face backlash for violating specific spam update guidelines. If you want to know the status, you can explore your traffic and ranking for the last week.

In general, all malicious sites fall into the spam category according to the guidelines. However, some sites that follow the guidelines may be spam without realizing it. You can imagine an insecure website vulnerable to hacking and malware attacks. Google doesn’t care whether you’ve engaged in intentional spam or are a victim of hacker spam. You can’t expect any different treatment since the spam updates the company released in November. The website owner remains responsible for this. If you compare Google’s annual reports on the fight against spam, you will see the rate at which the cases of hacked spam are increasing.

As indicated, it is too early to provide concrete insights into the effects of spam content updates. That’s why it’s important to check the status of your site after a recent spam update. A drop in rankings may signal that you need to take serious care of your website’s security and the possibility of attacks. But you don’t have to worry if you follow safe search engine practices. If you can’t handle everything, you can partner with a recognized digital marketing services provider and ask for help. Their expertise and knowledge can prove useful for your business.

Link Spam July Update: Focus on your backlink profile

Speaking of spam updates, you can’t miss the July 2021 Algorithm Link Update. This update, which was focused on detecting and removing link spam regardless of language, took two weeks to release. Many links therefore faced anger. However, those who followed white hat practices and avoided any violation of link guidelines were and may continue to be safe. Appropriate labeling of links is also important in this. If you don’t want to suffer any penalty in the future, you must adhere to the labeling conventions as necessary. You can keep them in mind, for example “rel=sponsored” for affiliate links, “rel=sponsored” for sponsored links and “rel=nofollow” for guest posts.

To avoid the impact of link spam updates, you may want to do a few more things. In this context, you can select an external link. If you follow best practices in this area, you will not buy links that are not relevant to your site. Link exchange is also not good. Generally, people engage in activities where both parties agree to add their links to each other’s platforms. Even if the relevant links are not harmful, you cannot fully trust these link building efforts. Links obtained under any contractual obligations may not be useful. It is also better to stay away from link generators or content spinning tools.

It is worth noting that no authoritative link building initiative relevant to your content, product or service will hurt. Since it is an integral part of SEO, your focus on your backlink profile is crucial. It can reward your site with rankings. However, if you want to clean up the mess, you might as well do it to save yourself.

Cleaning and building a back profile

It can consist of three phases – technical SEO, on-page SEO and off-page SEO. Technical SEO involves auditing the site to ensure structural integrity and security against any problem. A secure website will not face any crawling and indexing problems. However, it is not only the quality of the content that matters. Site architecture, speed and user experience also play a key role in the ranking.

On-page SEO looks into content optimization for link building. When auditing content, the emphasis remains on its relevance, which depends on its resonance with the target audience, usability for weeks, months and years, and the ability to include recent updates. Any pieces of content with too many keywords, hyperlinks and padding can be low quality. You also wouldn’t want thin content on the site. Google puts the emphasis on the user. If you keep them happy, the search engine will naturally support you.

Then you need to consider off-page SEO, which covers PR, branding, equity and link building. Moving to this domain without solving technical and on-page issues can be expensive. So it may be best to take a content-centric approach to link building. Review all assets on your website, such as “About” pages, careers pages, service placements, infographics, blogs, etc. Once reviewed, you can begin to examine competitor backlinks and metrics and link opportunities while eliminating unsavory brand mentions and fix broken Links.

The purpose of the Google spam update information is to alert you to the importance of a holistic SEO effort. Whether you examine November’s Content Spam Update or July’s Link Spam Update, you can’t deny that both components are integral to your site’s ranking, credibility, and success. That’s why it makes sense to follow best practices in every area, including content, link building, and more, to ensure better rankings and visibility.  Ultimately, you can also consult with an SEO driven service company to get more insights.