By Mistie Crovo of Powered by RIO
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Here's something nobody tells you when you start putting content online. You might be doing something Google considers spammy right now and have no idea you're doing it. Y'all most likely are not trying to spam on purpose. It's just that Google quietly changed what counts as spammy, and a whole lot of good, hardworking website owners got swept up in it without ever knowing what hit them.
When Google rolled this update out, they said straight up they were coming for low-quality content. And they meant it. The goal? Cut unoriginal, unhelpful junk out of search results by about 40%. That's a lot. That's the kind of number that should make you take notice.
And here's the thing — the practices that tripped up so many sites back then are still in effect today. Which means they apply to your website right now too.
So in this episode I'm walking you through what actually gets flagged, why a drop in your rankings doesn't always mean your content is bad, and exactly how to go through your site and clean it up. If you've ever had that little nagging feeling that some of your own SEO habits might be working against you, this one's for you.
What's covered in this episode
- 00:00 — The update aims to cut search spam by 40%
- 04:28 — Google works for users, not website owners
- 06:10 — Takeaway 1: You need original content
- 07:59 — Takeaway 2: Create content for users, not search engines
- 10:25 — Takeaway 3: No duplicated, unoriginal, or AI content
- 12:39 — Takeaway 4: Don't scale content just to rank
- 14:55 — Takeaway 5: Answer questions people actually ask
- 16:23 — Site reputation abuse explained
- 18:24 — Don't buy expired domains for past SEO
- 19:17 — What to do now: auditing your site
- 21:02 — How to tell if you've already been hit
What did Google's spam update actually change?
Google took its "helpful content" system and inserted it into the main ranking algorithm, then added three new spam policies on top. What does that mean for you? Content quality stopped being some side thing Google checks. It's now part of how every single page gets ranked. Permanently.
And this wasn't your run-of-the-mill update. Google itself called it "more complex" because it touched a bunch of core systems at once. Those three new policies — scaled content abuse, site reputation abuse, and expired domain abuse — are still in place today. So the same rules that tripped up a lot of sites back then? Those are the rules your site is being measured against right now.
Why does Google work for searchers and not website owners?
I say this all the time, so here it is again: Google works for the person doing the searching. Not for you the website owner. Its whole job is to serve up the best answer to whatever someone types into the search bar. Your rankings? Those are a side effect of doing that well. Not the point.
"This has nothing to do with your website and everything to do with how people are searching and the experience they have while they're searching."
Think about your own searches for a second. You type in a question, you get a wall of sketchy links, and half of them you're scared to click because who knows what's on the other side. Google got tired of serving that up. So it built systems to push that junk down and lift up the people who are actually helping.
What counts as "spammy" content now?
Spammy content is anything you make to game the rankings instead of help a real person. That covers AI filler you copy-pasted word for word, duplicate content, and pages so stuffed with keywords they read funny. And Google catches all three now, no matter who or what created them.
- Unoriginal content — duplicated, copied, or barely reworded from someone else
- Content written for search engines — keyword-stuffed copy that reads all kinds of weird
- AI content used verbatim — copy-pasted with none of your own voice in it
- Mass-produced pages — cranked out just to climb the rankings
- Off-topic clickbait — content that has nothing to do with what your site is about
The thread tying all of it together is intent. If you made it to get one over on Google instead of to actually help somebody, that's the stuff that gets you into trouble.
Why original content matters so much
Original content means content you made. In your voice, with your expertise. It's the single biggest thing protecting your site, and it's the one thing AI flat-out cannot fake.
"I know your best friend's third cousin's brother's wife's uncle is getting great results with AI content. Don't do it. It's going to catch up with everyone who doesn't have original content."
Original doesn't mean nobody else has ever touched the topic. It means you're the one saying it. Your way. Your angle. Your experience. The exact same information, said in your voice, lands with a certain group of people in a way some generic version never will.
Should you use AI to write your content? My honest take
Use AI as a tool, not a ghostwriter. Brainstorm with it. Beat your writer's block with it. Outline, kick around ideas, all good. But don't you dare copy-paste what it spits out and call it your content. That right there is exactly what the scaled content policy is hunting for.
Scaled content abuse is when pages get mass-produced to try and outsmart the rankings — by AI, by humans, by some mix of the two. Google doesn't care how it got made anymore. It cares about the intent and the quality. So if you've ever caught yourself thinking "I'll just have ChatGPT pump out 50 posts this weekend"? Don't do it. Use AI to get unstuck. Then go write the real thing yourself.
The three spam policies that are still in effect
Google added three specific spam policies, and all three are still active today. Knowing them by name makes it easier to look at your own site honestly.
| Spam Policy | What It Means | Real-World Example |
|---|---|---|
| Scaled content abuse | Mass-producing pages to outsmart rankings, by any method | Publishing 500 generic blog posts in two days |
| Site reputation abuse | Hosting unrelated third-party content to borrow a site's authority (parasite SEO) | A marketing site suddenly hosting "best casinos" pages |
| Domain abuse | Buying an expired domain to cash in on its old SEO, or buying domains just to manipulate search engines | Grabbing a lapsed domain and flooding it with off-topic posts, or buying variations of your domain thinking it'll rank you higher |
Site reputation abuse even got its own deadline — May 5, 2024. Google gave everybody a two-month heads up to clean it up before they started enforcing. That window closed a good while ago. So if you've got third-party content living on your site, that's something I'd go check on sooner rather than later.
How do you know if your site was affected?
Same way you'd check for any core update. Look at your analytics. Look at your Search Console. Heck, type your own business name into a search and see what comes up. A sudden drop right after a known update? That's your biggest clue.
- Go through all your content — every page. Flag anything that's AI-generated, duplicated, or a little too close to someone else's.
- Rewrite it in your own words or take it down. Make it yours.
- Check Search Console for manual action notices (left sidebar → Security & Manual Actions).
- Watch your analytics for patterns, and pin down exactly when the drop started.
- Keep an eye on it. This isn't a one-and-done. Recovery takes consistent, original work over time.
And listen — a drop in your rankings doesn't automatically mean your content is bad. Sometimes good sites get caught up in these updates too. Either way, the fix is the same. Clean things up and keep moving forward.
Frequently Asked Questions About Google's Spam Policies
Will using AI content get my website penalized by Google?
Not automatically. Google penalizes content created to manipulate rankings, not AI use itself. Using AI to brainstorm or draft is fine. Copy-pasting AI output verbatim as your final content is what triggers the scaled content abuse policy.
What is site reputation abuse?
Site reputation abuse, or "parasite SEO," is when a website hosts unrelated third-party content purely to borrow that site's ranking power. Google began enforcing this policy on May 5, 2024, and it remains active today.
How do I know if Google flagged my site?
Check Google Search Console under Security and Manual Actions for any notices, then review your analytics for sudden traffic or ranking drops timed to a known update. You can also search your business name to see if your site still ranks.
Is the spam update still affecting rankings?
The update finished rolling out, but the three spam policies it introduced are permanent. Scaled content abuse, site reputation abuse, and expired domain abuse are now standing parts of Google's spam policy and still govern how every site ranks.
The bottom line
There's no magic pill for this. Never has been. No matter what those Facebook and YouTube ads keep promising you. Google's all-knowing, and eventually it catches up with anybody trying to circumvent the system. The way through is simple: put out good, helpful, original content in your own voice. Do that, and you'll be just fine.
Want another set of eyes on your website? If you're staring at a traffic drop, or you just want someone to catch the spammy practices you didn't know you had, that's exactly what I do. Let's take a look at your website together.
Happy website-ing!