Google has begun enforcing the new site reputation abuse policy by removing portions of websites from the Google Search index. It appears to have been rolled out in the last hour or so where sites as big as CNN, USA Today, and the LA Times are seeing their coupon directories no longer rank for keyword phrases related to the coupon.
We expected the application to start this week, we posted a reminder last week. Google told us this change was coming in March, when Google announced multiple search improvements, which also included the March 2024 Core Update.
Google said today. Google search link said to X today, “It will start later today. Although the policy started yesterday, the implementation really starts today.”
Examples of execution. Laura Chiocciora and Glenn Gabe posted screenshots of some sites that were affected by this update. They include CNN, USA Today and the LA Times. All of these sites have not prevented these directories from being indexed or ranked by Google and tonight found that these sections have been removed from Google Search.
You are right. I’m seeing the same thing. USA Today, CNN and the LA Times are all gone for “subway coupons” and other queries. It sure looks like the update is on its way. 🙂 The first screenshot is now and the second is yesterday. pic.twitter.com/f46B5h2ccP
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) May 6, 2024
Some other sites, like ForbesThe Wall Street Journal and others manually blocked these directories from Google’s spiders before enforcement of this new policy began.
This is just a sample of some of the enforcement measures.
Manual actions. We have yet to see examples of manual actions, where Google issues manual penalties through Google Search Console. Those they are expected to come too These specific actions above appear to be algorithmic.
What is site reputation abuse? When third-party websites host low-quality content provided by third parties to leverage the ranking power of those third-party websites. As Google told us in March:
“A third party may post payday loan reviews on a trusted educational website to gain site ranking benefits.” “Such high content rankings in search can confuse or mislead visitors who may have very different expectations of the content on a given website.”
According to Google’s new policy, site reputation abuse is defined as “third-party content produced primarily for ranking purposes and without close oversight by a website owner” and “intended to manipulate the ranking of search” will be considered spam.
Google announced new Google Search spam policies on reputation abuse this way and updated policies are this way.
But. Not all third-party content will be considered spam, as Google explained:
“Many publications host advertising content aimed at their regular readers, rather than primarily manipulating search rankings. Sometimes called ‘native advertising’ or ‘advertising’, this type of content would not normally confuse regular readers of the publication when they find it directly to the publisher’s site or when they arrive there from Google search results.”
Why we care Many SEOs have complained about the harm and unfairness that comes from parasitic SEO. With so many complaints about the quality of search results lately, this may help with some of those complaints.
