December 2022 link spam update releasing for Google Search
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Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Today, we're leveraging the power of SpamBrain to neutralize the impact of unnatural links on
search results.
Fighting link spam with SpamBrain
SpamBrain is our
AI-based spam-prevention system.
Besides using it to detect spam directly, it can now detect both sites buying links, and sites
used for the purpose of passing outgoing links.
What this update means for your site
Our launch today, which we refer to as the December 2022 link spam update, will
take about two weeks to fully roll out. Ranking may change as spammy links are neutralized and any
credit passed by these unnatural links are lost. This launch will affect all languages.
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. If you come across sites that engage in inorganic link building, please
report them to us. If you have specific
feedback in regards to this update, feel free to post in our
help community.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],[],[[["Google's AI-powered SpamBrain system is being enhanced to neutralize the impact of unnatural or spammy links on search rankings."],["This update, called the December 2022 link spam update, will take approximately two weeks to fully roll out and will affect search results in all languages."],["Websites that engage in buying or selling links for ranking manipulation may see their rankings change as these unnatural links lose their value."],["Google encourages website owners to report any sites observed to be engaging in inorganic link building practices."],["Google emphasizes that links intended solely for manipulating search rankings are considered link spam and will be nullified."]]],[]]