Google announced that it had started enforcing a new policy against abuse of site reputation. Although Google did not announce that it would take action until last night, the policy went into force on Sunday, May 5. Reminder: This is meant to go after websites engaging in what some refer to as Parasite SEO.
It appears that this upgrade affected several sizable “reputable” websites, such as CNN, USA Today, LA Times, Fortune, Daily Mail, Outlook India, TimesUnion, PostandCourier, SFGATE, and numerous others. Google took particular action against these websites by hand, notifying them of the action through a message in Google Search Console. This was done on a targeted basis. These activities are not automated.
Recall that Google updated its spam policy and addressed scaled content and expired domain abuse on March 5. Nonetheless, it was stated that the prohibition against site reputation abuse wouldn’t take effect until after May 5. Now that the time has arrived, Google’s Search Liaison, Danny Sullivan, stated on X yesterday:
““It will begin at a later time today. Even though the policy was enacted yesterday, enforcement is underway today.””
After that, on X, Sullivan informed me, “We’re only doing manual actions right now. “The algorithmic component will indeed come, as we’ve said, but that’s not life yet,” he stated.
Additionally, Google has already begun to stop displaying this kind of content on these websites. As of last night, CNN, USA Today, LA Times, and other publications all kept the discount directories accessible for Google, and they all noticed that those pages had vanished from Google Search results.
After that, on X, Sullivan informed me, “We’re only doing manual actions right now. The algorithmic component will indeed come, as we’ve said, but that’s not live yet,”
He stated.
Additionally, Google has already begun to stop displaying this kind of content on these websites. As of last night, CNN, USA Today, LA Times, and other publications all kept the discount directories accessible for Google, and they all noticed that those pages had vanished from Google Search results.
Though I have yet to see many people post images of manual actions, I have seen one site owner mention that they were sent one. In the Google Webmaster Help forum, they made the following post:
On our website, there is a section dedicated to brand promotion.
These articles, which fall within the brand category, already have the Nofollow attribute applied.
For this category, we still have manual action: Site Reputation Abuse.
How could that be fixed?
These are some instances of websites that were affected by last night’s enforcement of site reputation abuse:
Google’s crackdown on third-party content
Google’s new spam policy focuses on websites that contain content from third parties with little to no engagement from the host. According to Google, the official definition of site reputation abuse is as follows:
Site reputation abuse is the practice of publishing third-party pages with little to no first-party monitoring or involvement in an attempt to manipulate search rankings by taking advantage of the ranking signals provided by the first-party site. This comprises sponsored, partner, advertising, and other third-party pages, which frequently conflict with the primary goal of the host site, could be better supervised, and provide more value to users.
This policy update addresses the quality and degree of integration of third-party content with the host’s primary goals, in addition to its mere existence.
Immediate impacts and future outlook
Google’s Search Liaison verified the implementation of the policy on Twitter, stating that although it was established the previous day, active enforcement started today. As a result, a number of well-known websites have already begun to delete or edit parts that include product reviews but don’t include concrete evidence of the reviewer’s firsthand use of the product, including test results, measurements, or original images.
With this improvement, Google is demonstrating its ongoing dedication to enhancing the calibre of content that appears highly in its search results and the legitimacy of that content, with the goal of creating a more dependable and trustworthy online community.
